I Don't Need Love
by honeydew7
Summary: Love is for the needy. The ones who can't live alone. The ones that always need someone there. Love is for the weaklings. No matter who tries to change her mind, Yamanaka Ino will never become a weakling. She will never need love. Ino x Itachi
1. The First Encounter

**A/N: **Hey guys! The first chapter was written along with my very good friend Tenny! (She is "Tenny", and I am "Yammy" ^^) If I ever sound OoC (ESPECIALLY with Itachi) please let me know. This happens to be my first real FanFic so please don't be TOO harsh (as every noob says). Enjoy!

**Setting:** Konoha is now a modern city in Japan. AU.

**Disclaimer: **I definitely do not own Naruto. Wish I did. Then I could call myself one of the most creative people in the world.

* * *

Under the late afternoon sun, Itachi sat high atop a thick oak branch. His abnormally powerful, red eyes allowed him to see through the abundance of trees and foliage to observe a subject he had been interested in for several months.

Like so many times before, she had been walking back through the heavily forested park in Konoha, picking flowers beneath the morning dew, adding them to a bunch in her hand as she made her way down the path. It had occurred to him to follow her but he had a strong inclination as to her actions. Besides, the veil of mystery only added to his interest.

Itachi knew not all the flowers were picked by her. He once came across her entering the forest with a bunch already in hand, most likely given to her, picking more along the way and mixing them into the ones she already had. Sometimes he caught her believing she was alone, fixing parts of her hair and dress. He knew she was young, barely at the age of being nubile, but he was sure she had something no woman had: an air of confidence in her own allure.

He decided to finally speak to her. As she leaned over to pick a rare blue tulip she saw a hand much larger than hers pick it first. Looking up she saw the unmistakable image of Uchiha Itachi.

* * *

Yamanaka Ino entered the forest with a small bunch of flowers in her left hand, her golden hair flowing like a river down her back and barely reaching her hips. Her short, purple dress stuck to her curvy yet also very fit body, as she glided through the trees. She had just said goodbye to her date for the day who had given her the flowers she was currently holding, at the beginning of the short, and not to mention boring, date.

He wasn't a "customer" of hers, which is probably why she considered it to be boring. It had just been a sympathy date with a younger boy who's father passed away tragically a few days prior. It was obscure why it didn't surprise her that nothing more than a kiss on the cheek had happened.

This young female wasn't just an ordinary girl. Sure, Ino occasionally lended her parents a hand at the Yamanaka Flower Shop, formed a habit of spending time with her best friends Shikamaru and Chouji almost everyday, and didn't even mind seeing the big forehead of her friend/enemy Sakura, but that wasn't enough. The need for something more satisfying in life always existed deep inside, and she knew for a fact that that something was not love. She knew she was the most beautiful girl in Konoha, and maybe even in all of Japan. She knew girls couldn't contain their jealousy and envy from leaking out, the same way boys couldn't block their lust from escaping. She was smart and very talented when working with flowers. She had parents that loved her and friends that would protect her. She was independent enough to not rely on love for happiness anymore. Still, that just _wasn't enough_. That's when a peculiar idea jumped straight into her blonde head. It was something people frowned upon and perhaps it was even forbidden, however at this point, Ino could care less. It was necessary. Necessary for Ino. Necessary for Ino to know for a fact that she was the most desired person that lived. It was not from a lack of confidence that she wanted to do this, but actually from overconfidence. She had confidence that she was unquestionably the most lusted after and by doing this deed it would give evidence that her thoughts were correct. This Yamanaka knew she was worth a lot, and unless a male could give concrete proof that he thought she was worth a lot too, he would be spending the night alone.

Ino kept walking, feeling worse and worse for the flowers she received. They did not get along with eachother at all, meaning they did not compliment eachother. As a girl who had been surrounded by flowers her whole life, she would know.

"Don't worry. I'll help you guys."

She had a habit of talking to flowers, just as others did to their pets. Very often, she compared herself to an immaturely bloomed flower; beautiful alone, yet beautiful with others that complimented her beauty, too. Since the start of her adolescent years, she thought Uchiha Sasuke, the most handsome boy at school, was the one who complimented her beauty the most, which forced Ino's mind to go after him as the one she should love. Clearly that did not work out.

She had just started picking some flowers from the ground when she noticed one flower that stood out from the rest of the forest ground. It was a blue tulip, which she had never crossed paths with before. Gently stepping over the more common flowers to the lonely tulip, she bent down. Her arm was outstretched to pick it out from its home in the ground when she saw a noticeably larger hand beat her to the rare flower. Annoyed, yet slightly curious as to who would be trespassing her territory of peace, she looked up, only to have her eyes widen in shock as she slowly stood up.

"Sasuke..." She knew it wasn't him, but for some reason she gained the need to say his name out loud.

* * *

Itachi stood tall over Ino, as she came to just about his chest height. Ino looked at the tulip held in his right hand pinched between his thumb and second finger, his fourth finger bearing a red ring with the kanji word for "red" written in black. This unmistakably displayed that he was a member of the criminal organization "Akatsuki" the whole of Konoha was murmuring about. They were a group people usually compared to the mafia, but rather than dealing with illegal deeds, they were known as an unstoppable group that was immoral enough to not be afraid to kill, for whatever reason they may have had.

The delicate flower in his hand a hugely contrasting element, a visual paradox to the air and appearance of the face was one which beared the look of apathy, the folds beneath his eyes indicative of one who seldom sleeps and whose livelihood is one filled with depression and stress.

"So you know my brother." Itachi said with a hidden sigh.

In the glowing sunlight Ino could see the unique pattern of his eyes- a feature forever prevalent. The Uchiha looked into the young female's light blue eyes for the first time to notice that her complexion is soft and light in colour. Most strikingly though, she appeared to be thinner and shorter than he had thought. A moral dichotomy coursed through his mind for a moment, questioning his judgment on Ino's daily walks through the park, for she seemed at least 2 years younger than he had thought. He decided to introduce himself before asking about her paid services.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi." He spoke in a polite fashion though his voice is deep, it is not hard to imagine that he is a commanding person. "Do you know who I am?"

Ino blinked. She knew exactly who he was, but had no idea why at this exact moment his existence was right infront of _her_. His unique eyes absorbed her, reminding her so much of Sasuke's. Dangerous as she knew he was, Ino, for some unknown and odd reason, did not feel the fear or anxiety any other normal person would feel when near a member of such a fearful group.

She knew she had to regain her composure, so she shook her head a tiny bit, and looked back up at Itachi's impassive expression, but her eyes had been fixed so they weren't wide as if stunned anymore, but more narrow and questioning. Deciding to act as if the man infront of her was just another person she knew from school, she let her young, nagging, and slightly annoying voice be emitted along with a frown on her face. Ino knew he could end her life in an instant if he had the desire, but again, for some reason she did not know, Ino did not care.

"Of course I do. Sheesh. I'm not stupid. You're one of the Akatsuki." She flipped her head gently to shift her bangs that had slowly crept onto her face to cover her right eye. His face still bearing no emotion, Ino suddenly thought she was being a little too harsh on their first meeting, and gave Itachi the faintest of smiles. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. The prettiest girl in Konoha. "

Remembering how calm he was when speaking, she got a strong sense that Itachi wasn't here to harm her. Even so, Ino felt it was wise not to be arrogant enough to mention that she thought she was the strongest female in Konoha, which was a habit when it came to introducing herself to others. She couldn't help but wonder why this older Uchiha was wandering through a forest full of flowers, and most importantly, why he was interested in someone like _her_. If he had journeyed to kill someone, she thought it would be someone excessively strong like Kakashi-sensei, or even someone indescribably annoying like Naruto. In no situation would she think of herself. It was adjudicated that there was probably something about her that grabbed his attention, which was the situation with most boys, even if he was an Akatsuki.

"Is there something you need from me?" Her quiet voice belied her absence of unease.

Uchiha Itachi closed his eyes, allowing himself to look peaceful as he said, "I need to know" He reopened his piercing eyes and formed a minute smirk on his face before continuing.

"...how much you cost"

* * *

**A/N:** Please tell me what you think! Reviews, tips, noticed errors, and constructive criticism would be an amazing help and I would very much appreciate them. :)


	2. Best Friends

**A/N: **Many thanks to those who reviewed :) There's a lot more dialogue and it's a bit shorter compared to the first chapter, but I hope it doesn't make a difference in quality. Enjoy!

* * *

Ino was walking. She had no idea where she was. She had no idea where she was going. Her head was full of her inner voice yelling at the top of her lungs, making Ino want to stab herself.

"Stupid inner voice. How are you louder than ME?"

As punishment, her inner voice forced her mind to travel back to just a few hours ago.

* * *

"I need to know... how much you cost"

_Oooooh he doesn't wanna be alone tonight! _

"Are you talking about-"

"Yes."

_Come on, Ino. Why aren't you being more flirty? Pull yourself together!_

"I don't like to talk about my price in _public_. It tends to make others _very_ jealous."

_There ya go!_

"It's more than just your price that allows others to be envious."

_Whoa! Did HE just sa-_

"Then, you'll tell me the cost tonight. In private."

_Well, there's no getting out of this now. SMILE, INO!_

"Of course. Here's my address."

"Expect me at ten."

_Show him your bedroom eyes!_

"I'll be waiting."

_You sure aren't acting like your usual self, Ino. Look at the way he walks! VERY attractive._

"Shut UP!"

_Hmph._

* * *

"Ino? Inooooo. Sigh. How troublesome."

Ino shook her beautiful golden head before glancing up and noticing a familiar looking hand waving across her face. With her ocean deep eyes, she looked across the table to notice a pair of lazy black eyes staring right at her. Nara Shikamaru saw his friend come back to the present and lowered his hand with another profound sigh. It took Ino a short while to realize she was in a Korean BBQ restaurant, and clearly wasn't companionless.

"What's up Ino? You've been complet- oops sorry, completely spaced out all night." Akimichi Chouji, who was known for his passion for eating, stated while spitting out some chunks of beef among his words.

Ino turned her head and looked at Chouji, one of her two best friends. A blue cap was placed on top of his chestnut coloured flying hair, as if making an attempt to tame it. As much as this boy loved to eat until he couldn't physically move anymore, she knew he would give up the luxury of eating as much as he could if it was the only way to save Ino's life, not that he would ever have to. She knew she was lucky Chouji was always there to deliver her comfort, lend her a shoulder to let her tears flow on, support her even when she was irrational, and supply her with helpful and logical advice, whenever it was necessary. A genuine smile broke onto Ino's perfect face.

"I'm _fine_, Cho. Quit worrying and eat your food before I eat it all first!"

"Since when did you finish all your food?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or even better, since when did you eat meat at all?"

Ino rolled her eyes at the lazy bum's typical comment and picked up her pair of chopsticks.

"Geez Shika, I was just kidding. And I do so eat meat! Just in moderate portions... unlike Chouji." She threw a wink at Chouji, to ensure he would know she was just teasing and he replied by shoving more meat into his already stuffed mouth.

The young Nara snorted as Ino watched him reach into the pocket of his moss green vest for a light and a pack of cigarettes.

_Ugh, gross_.

Following the tragic death of Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru's favourite teacher at school, the latter began what Ino considered to be the most disgusting habit known in the universe. Since the exact hour Asuma-sensei passed away, Shikamaru hadn't lived a day without smoking a minimum of seven cigarettes every twenty-four hours. The blonde concluded that her lazy friend thought Asuma-sensei had passed his addiction down to him on purpose.

Shikamaru, the second of Ino's two best friends, was very different from Chouji. To anyone, he defined the word lazy. Ino and Cho weren't just anyone though; they knew him. They could see through his bored eyes and read his mind, all three could do this with one another. It was quite obvious to them that Shika had enough brains to make him the leader of the whole world, if only his laziness didn't take over.

The sluggish boy pulled out a cigarette from the pack, lit the tip with a lighter, took a deep drag, and exhaled, letting a thin trail of smoke escape from his mouth. Now leaning comfortably against the wall beside him, he was about to take another drag when Ino put her chopsticks back down, reached over the table, grabbed the white stick from his mouth, and threw it out the window adjacent Shikamaru's head. Once again, Shikamaru closed his eyes and let out a stressed sigh, then opened them to glare at his annoyingly stubborn friend.

"What a drag. You stopped doing that for so long, Ino." He reached up and scratched the back of his neck, which was covered with his long black hair that wasn't tied up like it normally was. "Why start again now?"

"Because it's gross! Trust me on this, Shika. No girl enjoys kissing a boy who smokes. Trust me."

Nara Shikamaru rolled his eyes and replied, "Of course, you would know."

"And what is _that_," Ino slammed her hands onto the surface of the table and pushed herself off her seat. "Supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Oh, don't start with me about that now." She lifted her hands, palms facing Shikamaru, creating an invisible wall between them.

He ejected another cigarette and lit it with the built-in BBQ grill in the centre of the restaurant's table and retored, "Then don't start with me and my smoking."

"That is COMPLETELY different! Smoking can KILL you, Shika. It's deathly! Why doesn't your lazyass brain understand that?"

"Quit being a drag, Ino. Your so-called job is dangerous, too. Not to mention even more filthy than my so-called _deathly_ habit." Churlishly, Shikamaru opened his mouth and blew smoke directly into Ino's face.

Ino didn't move an inch. Locked with Shikamaru's beady black eyes, her blue eyes were now a shade of cobalt with the ability to pierce through someone, which only happened when anger seeped inside of her.

"Shikamaru. Don't." Chouji warned. Throughout the debate his food intake had decreased noticeably until he stopped eating completely to interpolate.

"It's okay Chouji. He can do anything he likes." Ino's voice froze Chouji's insides, sounding so different from her regular voice that was always filled with excessive cheerfulness. "And as far as I'm concerned, so can I."

Turning on her heels, she briskly snatched her purse and stormed towards the door. The brief walk to the door now a catwalk, for most of the restaurant were glancing around in an attempt to determine the source of the boisterous argument.

"Ino! Ino!" The Akimichi scrambled to get off his seat, waving his arms. "Wait!"

* * *

Once reaching the fresh, crisp, autumn air, the furious Yamanaka shut her eyes tight and took one very deep breath.

_Calm down, Ino. Two more deep breaths and you'll be good as new._

Listening to her inner voice as always, she took two more breaths just as deep as the first. As she exhaled her third breath, she opened her eyes, now back to being bright blue, and allowed her signature radiant smile to take control of her face.

_Good girl!_

Customarily she took a cab home, but tonight she decided an hour of walking would be good for her. It would give her time to think about her ultimately relaxing bath she would take once arriving home.

Yamanaka Ino began her somewhat lengthy trip home when a car horn screamed into her ears, disposing her smile, and bringing in a thought the fight with Shikamaru had gotten rid of: Uchiha Itachi.

"Shit."

* * *

**A/N: **Reviews? Please and thank you. :)


	3. The First Night

**A/N: **Enjoy!

* * *

Without bothering to check the time, she quickly hailed for a cab, receiving four or five available cabs. After hopping into the back of one of them, Ino gave her address to the driver and leaned back into the black seat. Outside the bright city lights stood out from the black atmosphere of the night.

"Here ya go."

Ino didn't realize that the taxi had stopped infront of her modern apartment. She grabbed a few bills from her purse and handed them over to the driver, said a quick thank you, and jumped out of the vehicle. The evening doorman did not open the door when she approached the door, but instead greeted her as he always did.

"Evenin' Miss Yamanaka."

"Hi, Carl."

"You seem troubled, miss. Is everything alright?" Carlton, whom Ino liked to call Carl, queried.

A sigh escaped from her mouth before she could hold it in. "It will be in the morning."

"Ah." The friendly doorman smiled, knowing very well what the resident was talking about. "How will I recognize this fellow?"

"Long black hair in a low ponytail."

"Surely you're not speaking of Shika-"

"Oh, no! No no no no no. Just make sure he's a guy with his hair tied and is _not_ Shikamaru. You'll know who it is when you see him."

Carlton chuckled. "Will do, miss." He pulled the large silver handle of the massive glass door with one hand and gestured his other hand towards the lobby the door gave an entrance to. "It's getting cold, miss. You should head on inside."

"But if I freeze to death out here then I won't have to deal with tonight." Ino half joked half spoke her mind.

Again, he chuckled and smiled at Ino. "I assure you, miss, if you try to attempt such deed I will stop you."

"If it was any other doorman in Konoha, I bet they wouldn't mind watching my death."

"Indeed, but I am most definitely not like any other doorman in Konoha."

"True. And to be honest I'm glad. Very very _very_ glad." Ino offered her doorman the brightest smile she could give and walked through the doorway. "Good night, Carl!"

"Have a good night, miss." Carlton replied, releasing his grasp on the handle.

* * *

Ino walked through the wide lobby and entered one of the elevators that had happened to open the instant she arrived. After pressing the button for the twenty-first floor, the young woman sank into the marble ground of the elevator and closed her tired eyes.

_Relax, Ino. Sheesh, since when did you stress this much over a guy?_

"Since not only is this guy dangerous but Sasuke's _brother_, too."

_Who cares if he's related to Sasuke? He's five hundred times BETTER than Sasuke. Besides, if he kills you, at least Carl will know who did it. Right?_

"Way to be helpful..."

_And hey, if it's THAT BAD, you DO live on the twenty-first floor with lots of windows..._

"Jeez, thanks."

* * *

As soon as Ino entered her apartment, she dropped her purse and her set of keys onto the ground right next to the door and soon her own body followed, remembering that her cellphone was in the bag she just threw down. The screen said "9:47" which told Ino she did not have enough time to shower but did have just enough time to change and freshen up a bit.

Wanting to dress more appropriately for the occasion, Ino was about to walk across towards her closet when a heavy knock on the door startled her.

"Damnit, he's early." Whispering to herself, she reached over and opened the door.

There he was, standing there with his form leaning against the doorframe, Uchiha Itachi. His eyes scanned up and down Ino's body before locking eyes with her's.

"Not ready yet, I see." He spoke quietly.

"You're early."

Without any regard to what she said, Itachi slid past her into the apartment, walked through and examined his surroundings, removing his shoes and stepping onto the smooth pale floor.

A fairly wide and spacious apartment welcomed him. Directly across the entrance was a large kitchen with an island. Around the farthest three sides of the island were long counters with cupboards hanging above, a silver fridge and a sink and an oven/stove was also found there. A glass dining table sat adjacent to the kitchen with four chairs to go with it. Moving past the dining area, a living room lay, full with a long white sectional sofa and a matching loveseat. The centre of the white was a low black coffee table, holding a vase containing a grouping of flowers. Infront of the table was a large black flatscreen TV and a fair sized stereo system. Behind the TV was the city. Half of the apartment's walls were window walls, allowing Itachi to see the breathtaking view of the city night life from high above. After showing his back to Konoha, he noticed two doors behind the living room, most likely to be a bathroom and a closet. Next to one of the doors was a staircase that led upstairs, however upstairs seemed to have no door that could block entry. This was when he tilted his head back and noticed how incredibly high up the ceilings were. It was a decent place to live.

He pointed at the short set of stairs leading towards what was Ino's sleeping area.

"Bedroom?"

Ino, who had transported to one of the two doors during his tour of her home, gave one nod allowing Itachi to slowly climb the stairs solo, as he removed his arms from the armholes of his black coat.

* * *

Ino was about to head upstairs when a mirror caught her eye. She decided to check herself out before letting the man upstairs see her.

Her golden locks were held up by a clip in a messy do with her bangs hanging infront of her face. She was wearing a black and white lacy bra and matching panties, both somewhat concealed by a black silk robe. The two sides of the robe was held together with a sash that was tied into a bow right on her stomach. Her long slender legs were revealed under the robe, seeing as the garment only covered two inches below her bottom. She wasn't as skinny as she used to be when she was was a teen, learning that eating healthier was better than not eating at all. Still skinny, but at least now you couldn't see any of her bones sticking out and her curves were more defined.

_Just get it over with, Ino. Besides, you asked for this._

Ino breathed a sigh and headed up to where her customer was waiting.

_Isn't this your job?_

* * *

Itachi paced around, observing the scenery of Ino's bedroom. Technically it wasn't considered a "room" because the area was not surrounded by walls. Instead, the whole upstairs area was her bedroom, with two walls that reached the ceiling and two "walls" that started from the ground and stopped around the height of hips. It allowed anyone to peer over the ledge to check the stairs on one side, and the rest of the apartment on the other.

He found Ino grounded infront of a mirror, clearly looking at herself to make sure she looked okay. Itachi walked to the queen size bed placed vertically against the wall farthest from him. It was difficult to identify what colour the sheets on the bed were due to the one candle that was the only source of light in the room, which he had found on the ledge and lit with a match. It seemed this area he was standing in was definitely just a "bedroom", since the only thing contained was indeed, just one bed. There was also a tall coat hanger with a set of varied robes hanging on it, but with it standing in a corner, it could hardly be seen.

Hearing Ino's light footsteps on the stairs, he stripped off his plain white t-shirt, uncovering his athletic body. His broad shoulders, strong chest, and his arms toned with muscle were the aspects that attracted girls towards him so much. Down his chest was his solid six pack and a slim waist. Itachi's dark blue jeans were low, just riding his hips, teasing the eyes of those who were dying to see what was below there.

Itachi turned around in time to see Ino reach the landing. There was no denying it, she looked hot. He smirked, knowing how easily the robe would come off. He took a few steps forward to reduce the distance between them and untied her sash, displaying her barely existent lingerie.

Ino shrugged off her robe, and he blew out the candle.

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews please! :)


	4. Another Night

**A/N: **Wow it's already November... Christmas is coming! :D

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Itachi woke up with an angel in his arms. At least, he thought she was an angel.

The light of the morning sun snuck into the room through the large window. He could now see that the colour of the bed sheets were a light shade of purple, as well as the rug on the ground and the two lamps on either side of the bed, though they were of a darker shade. Itachi chuckled, automatically assuming what Ino's favourite colour was.

He looked down at her, still drifting far away in her dreams. Careful to not disturb her sleep, he slowly retracted his arms from embracing Ino and got out of bed. Without any clothes or the body heat from someone close, coldness took over his body, forcing Itachi to quickly retrieve his clothes that were sprawled all over the ground and put them back on. Now fully dressed, he went to the bed and looked down at the resting girl.

He could not help but think of how radiant she looked, even as she slumbered. With her light hair sprawled over the pillow and her breathing airy, Ino's peace and beauty reminded Itachi of an angel that had descended from the sky. She was beautiful; her face, her body, her everything. Noticing how revealed her naked body was to the brisk air, he fixed the blanket, making sure it covered every bit of her flawless figure except for her head.

His mind replayed the acts of last night. Though beautiful in every way possible, the girl that accompanied him through the long night was not who he had expected. From his daily watches the past couple months, Itachi had concluded Ino was excessively happy, charmingly outgoing, and loved being the centre of attention. All of these factors had something in common: they were absent last night. That was what first caught his attention. Whether it was with her friends, her parents, or even other customers, and he knew they were customers seeing as they were with her in the park only once _and_ they were noticeably older, those three main aspects sprung out. With Itachi last night, or earlier that day when they first met, he couldn't spot any cheerfulness, the want for attention, and even thought she was a bit shy.

This troubled him.

As Itachi walked down to the main portion of the apartment and was about to leave a cheque, for the services he was given over the night, on the dining table, when a plan transported into his head and he smirked.

He desired to know the real Yamanaka Ino, and what Uchiha Itachi wants, he will get.

* * *

Her stomping footsteps displayed the amount of anger Yamanaka Ino possessed in her body.

"Stupid Uchiha Itachi. Thinks he can get away with this."

She felt cheap. Maybe even used. Most importantly, she did _not _feel worthy.

"Boy, if I ever run into him-" Before Ino could finish her ranting, a familiar voice interrupted, chasing away almost all her anger. Almost.

"Ino!"

Ino turned around to see a certain pink haired friend of hers adorned in a long white robe with a stethoscope on her neck, half walking half running towards the blonde.

"What are you doing here? And were you just talking to yourself?"

"Sakura! Just the usual speech to myself of how beautiful I am. Wanna grab a coffee and talk?"

"Sorry, I can't! My break is ending in five minutes. Everything okay?" Sakura studied Ino with squinted eyes, "You look a little... pissed."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Ino waved Sakura's observation away with her hand. "I was just bored as hell so I started walking around and my feet brought me here. How's work?"

"'How's work?' Since when did you care about my job? Are you sure you're okay, Ino?"

"Fine," Ino sighed. "I need to vent, ASAP."

"I knew it." The rosette smirked satisfyingly and put her hands on her hips. "Spill."

"It's about my job..."

"Maybe I'm better off not knowing." Sakura turned around and started to walk away from her friend.

"No!" Ino grabbed her arm and spun her around to face her. "Jeez, I'm not trying to tell you details, forehead! It's about _who_ it's with..."

The young doctor sighed, at the comeback of their immature nicknames for eachother _and _the fact that she had to get back to work. "Well, hurry and tell me, Ino-pig! I'm supposed to be back to work by now! Who is it?"

Ino looked down at the white floor of the hospital. "It's-" Raising her head back up to face her friend, she opened her mouth to release the name of the certain someone when she noticed a man standing behind Sakura, staring right at her.

Sakura was running out of patience, "Inooooo? I don't have time for this!"

"My apologies, but could I steal Ino away for a moment?"

The surprised doctor turned her head to see who owned the unrecognizable voice. Upon seeing the man standing behind her, she looked back at Ino with narrow eyes that leaked with suspicion.

"Sure. I have to get back to my rounds anyway."

"We'll talk later, Sakura!"

"Yeah, yeah." The Haruno was now walking away waving a hand at Ino without facing back to look at her, and soon disappeared around a corner.

Ino shifted her gaze to Itachi, who was stepping closer to her, before asking, "What are you doing here?"

Yamanaka Ino never took notice of how tall Itachi was. Now that he was more near, she had to tilt her head backwards to have eye contact properly.

"Hn."

Ino raised a perfect eyebrow, "Hn?"

Without a warning or a proper answer, he began to walk past her. Just like that, all her anger from earlier that she had forgotten about bombarded straight back into her.

"WAIT! Don't you DARE walk away from me!" Ino was raging. "First, you steal from me. Then, you stalk me. And now you're not only ignoring me but walking away from me, too?"

"Finally, the girl I was looking for." He turned around and chuckled, but to Ino it sounded more like a snort.

"WHAT?"

"I was wondering when you would come around."

Ino calmed down. Kind of. "What the hell are you talking about."

"I knew the girl from last night wasn't the girl that you normally are."

_Hmm, he's right about that._

"Excuse me? How would _you_ know what _I'm_ like?

Itachi ignored her question. "And I know last night wasn't your best either."

_*Gasp* Is he TRYING to get killed?_

Yamanaka's fury was indescribable at this point. "WHATTTT? HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME LIKE THAT! I COULD JUST-"

"Shhhhhh!" A nearby doctor quieted Ino. "You are in a hospital right now and peace is required! Please take your argument outside."

_It's okay, Ino. Let's be honest. He wasn't that great either. _

Itachi ignored the doctor as easily as he ignored the younger female standing infront of him. "By the way, I never stole from you. I merely have not paid you yet."

"I consider that stealing, thank you very much." She crossed her arms over her chest and pivoted her head to face the white walls that matched the floors.

"I didn't leave you the money because I wanted to pay for last night and tonight's services together."

"Excuse me?" He was really getting under her skin. "Tonight? You have _got_ to be kidding me! When did we ever make plans for tonight?"

"To prove you're better than last night."

"I don't have to prove anything to you. You're noone. Nothing is happening tonight."

Itachi bent down and whispered in her ear, "I could kill you."

"Sure, okay," Ino scoffed and pushed him away. "Then kill me right now. Good location for a murder, don't you think?"

"You sure you want that? _Ino-pig?_" He smirked, knowing it would hit a nerve.

_Oh, he did NOT just say that! _

"Fine. Tonight. Then we're done. After tonight, no more Yamanaka Ino for you."

_Boy, he's in for it tonight. Prove him wrong, Ino!_

"Oh and _by the way_, you weren't that great either."

_Go Ino!_

Ino stormed off before he could give another typically vague reply and turned at a corner, only to bump into someone.

"Oopmh. Hey! Watch where you're- Sakura?"

When she saw that it was her friend she had bumped into, she sighed for what seemed like the millionth time in the past twenty four hours. Clearly she heard the whole conversation, seeing as how loud Ino's voice was.

"Did you hear every-"

Sakura closed her eyes and raised a hand infront of Ino's face to stop her from continuing. "Don't even get me started."

* * *

He was touching her everywhere. Anywhere he could reach. Her body melted into his touch, unable to move.

His lips burned wherever they touched; up and down her neck, her chest, her stomach, her arms, her lips.

He couldn't stop grazing his hands all over her body, her curves.

Their bodies fit, like two pieces of a puzzle. They moved together, and sank into eachother's arms.

* * *

Ino woke up from her unplanned nap with a start when she heard the door slam shut. Erasing her dream that was replaying the actions of last night, she grabbed her cellphone from its location right next to her to check the time and understood just who it was that had entered her house.

When Itachi arrived on the second floor, the first thing he saw was a white tank top thrown onto the ground. Then, he gazed up and down the person who had thrown the top, standing in a beige bra with her hands on the hips of her low riding and very short jean skirt.

"Now you're entering my house without knocking first?"

"I knocked but there was no answer."

Ignoring his comment, she shimmied out of her skirt and soon it joined her tank top on the ground.

"Hn." Itachi got his jacket off just in time before Ino shoved him onto her bed and climbed on top of him, her knees straddling his hips, and her lips formed into a playful smirk. She meant business.

"You're gonna regret insulting me, Uchiha."

* * *

**A/N:** Review! Please and thank you :)

If you enjoyed the Invasion of Pein arc for Shippuden, check out my new one shot FanFic titled The Ame Orphans! :)


	5. I Don't Need Love

**A/N: **Random note. I recently gained an amazing love for Akatsuki. Love them love them love them! Is anyone caught up with the manga? I don't want to spoil it but around chapter 508 something really sad happens T_T GO READ. I love how many online manga websites there are! LOVE.

* * *

To be honest, Ino wasn't surprised to find herself alone in bed, considering that's what happened after the first night.

Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes to help them adjust to the light of the morning sun shining into her room, noting a loud commotion coming from downstairs. After crawling out of bed, she snatched a light blue coloured bathrobe from the "robe-hanger" and treaded down the stairs, wondering what would be waiting for her.

Once reaching the very last step, Ino glanced at the kitchen to see what the source of all the noise was, and her jaw dropped as she saw a certain someone cooking in her kitchen, shirtless.

_Wow! He sure looks yummy._

Ino could not help but agree with her inner voice. Now that she could see Itachi in proper lighting, his figure was definitely what anybody, female or male, would call delicious! His strong back looked irresistible, especially since she had a fetish for sexy backs, almost inviting Ino to run her hands across his skin, even from afar. Sure, being with him the past two nights gave her the idea that he had an amazingly strong and muscly body since she could feel every little bit of it, but she hadn't felt him with her eyes until now.

_Wanna stop drooling, Ino?_

She hastily shut her mouth, only to reopen it a second later.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Good morning to you, too."

He did not bother looking up from the eggs he was scrambling in a frying pan to see Ino walking across the apartment towards him.

"I said, what the hell are you doing?"

"Cooking. Is it hard to tell?"

"Who said you could?"

"I have to ask to eat?"

"Hmph."

Ino marched away from Itachi to her bathroom, deciding to take a refreshing shower. Upon entering the rather large bathroom, she removed her robe and entered the motion-detecting shower stall.

_Do you realize this is the second time you fell asleep after a night with a customer? _

Scorching water shot down at her skin and flattened her bright hair to her head.

_And BOTH times have been with the SAME guy?_

She shampooed her hair with what left a very fruity scent stuck to her.

_And up until the day before yesterday you have NEVER done that before?_

After rubbing soap all over her body, she rinsed it all off just a minute later.

_And today was the first time a guy stayed until sunrise?_

Once done with her cleansing, she stepped out of the stall and toweled herself down before putting a new robe on, this time orange and extra fluffy.

_Just who IS this guy?_

* * *

Itachi looked up from his not-yet-fully-cooked eggs to see Ino storming off and entering the bathroom. He was still staring at the now closed door as he heard water splashing, a sign that she was taking a shower.

He had no idea what had gotten into him. Something about her just attracted him with an unbelievable amount of force. Like moths to a flame, as people said. Itachi knew he had finally gotten her out of her shell, a shell that apparently had only existed around him, for a reason he still did not discover.

By the time he heard the water being shut off, the Uchiha had set up a lovely display of a large variety of brunch foods on Ino's glass dining table. A large plate covered in scrambled eggs, a stack of french toast next to an even bigger stack of pancakes, a small plate of bacon and sausages, a bottle of ketchup, a jug of syrup, and finally a carton of milk along with a jug of orange juice. No pulp.

"I would thank you for the food, but then again, it _is _all from my fridge."

He was digging around the cupboards for cups when Ino's quiet entrance forced him to turn his head around and look at her.

Fresh and clean from her shower, she looked even more beautiful than when she was dressed in her favourite outfit with makeup on her face. Her long glowing hair was still damp and a bit wavy as it stretched down her orange bathrobe, and was shining. The fragrance from her hair could be smelled even from over a metre away, and Itachi enjoyed this. All he wanted to do was sweep her up in his strong arms and kiss her.

Ino slipped into the small space between Itachi and the counter, and opened the cupboard to the right of the one he had been looking through and extracted two plain glasses. When she turned around he was right infront of her, less than half a foot apart. Her face lined with his upper chest, she slowly lifted her head up to meet his eyes, but first taking in all of his body. Ino refrained from reaching up to touch his neck, and resisted even more from giving his neck a gentle kiss. The Yamanaka noticed his loose hair falling around his bare shoulders; this was the first time she saw him without his hair tied. Finally, she looked into his red eyes.

"Good morning." Itachi placed his hands on top of the counters on either side of Ino, trapping her to a further extent between the counter and himself.

"You already said that." Ino could feel the heat from his breath and his body, which increased her heart rate, making her breathing unsteady.

"You didn't."

"Fine. Good morning. Can you move now?"

"Hn." He removed his grip from the surface of the counters and moved to the table dressed in food.

Ino, now relaxed from being released, saw exactly how much food was piled on the table and glared at Itachi. "Are we feeding the whole world? Or did you just feel like wasting all my food."

"I didn't know what you preferred for breakfast so I made a variety." He took a seat at the table, ignoring the daggers in Ino's eyes.

"Well, as nice as that was, you didn't have to make so much of everything. I'm not a pig."

"But your na-"

"I'M NOT A-" She took a deep breath to calm down and regain her grace as she sat down across from Itachi, "I mean, I am not a pig."

Despite what she had just said, Ino stabbed a piece of toast with her fork and stole a rather large bite, ignoring the chuckles coming from the man across from her.

"Wow, this is amazing!"

Itachi chuckled and took a pancake for himself to start off his breakfast.

They ate in a somewhat comfortable silence. The only sounds coming from the knives and forks clinking against the plates. Finally, they were both finished eating. Full from the rather large intake of food, Ino and Itachi both leaned back against their chairs, Ino's eyes closed.

"So," Ino spoke with her eyes still shut. "When do you plan to get out of my house?"

"When I feel like it."

Ino opened one eye to look at Itachi. "When are you going to pay what you owe?"

"At the end of the week."

"WHAT?" Her other eye flew open, unable to believe the nerve of this man.

"I want you for the week." Stated Itachi, as if it was the most obvious statement in the world.

"The _whole _week?"

"Hn."

"You're joking." When Itachi didn't deny it, Ino sighed, "Fine. But you're paying for right now too. After all, it is my food you're eating."

Ino ignored the playful smile lurking on his face as she placed all the dishes, cups, and cutlery into two piles, one for each hand, and carried everything without any lack of grace to the kitchen.

Itachi followed Ino and watched her settle the dirty dishes into the dishwasher as he said, "Let's go out."

"Out where?" The blonde continued her duty of filling the dishwasher.

"For a walk."

After turning the machine on, Ino faced Itachi. "Together?"

He nodded.

"What if I said no?"

"You wouldn't."

* * *

He was right. She couldn't say no. Not only because morning walks were quotidian in her lifestyle, but running into him outside unannounced would be even more troublesome then going outside _with_ him.

They were walking side by side, with a decent foot of space as an invisible barrier between them. Itachi's hands stuffed inside the deep pockets of his jeans just as Ino's hands were stuffed in the pockets of her beige coat. Despite the bright sun and the flowers blooming all around, it was still cold in temperature, even though it was March.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Ino's hair, now dry and in her usual long ponytail, was swaying from side to side with every step she took.

"When did you decide to do this?"

Ino shrugged with a bored expression on her face, as if she had already heard this question numerous times. "About... two years ago? When I was eighteen."

"So, you're twenty now."

"Yup! Fun, flirty, and fashionable; that's what they say about twenty. But then again, I was already like that before turning twenty..." She faced Itachi with a grin. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-five." His smile challenged Ino's. "I don't know what they say about twenty-five."

Ino automatically replied with a giggle, "Wow. They say twenty-five is the age when girls start to worry about their age. But since you're a guy, that doesn't apply."

"Does anything apply?" Itachi looked at her questioningly.

"I'll just say that you're the youngest yet." Her gaze dropped down his body and back up, a suggestive look on her face. "If you know what I mean."

Amazed by this girl, he chuckled, and looked up at the sky as they walked along the trail. "Why?'

"Why are you the youngest I've been with?"

"No. Why did you start this... job."

"It shows me how much I'm worth. I always knew I was worth a lot, but I just needed to make sure others agreed with me."

"How long do you plan on doing this?"

"As long as I want, I guess." Ino stopped walking for a moment to bend down and pick up a daffodil, then proceeded. "Jeez, enough questions? I didn't know you liked to talk this much."

Itachi did not acknowledge her gesture for jokes, "Is anything going to stop you?"

"Nothing that I know of right now."

"You don't want to get married? Have a family?"

"Nope."

"What about love?" He stopped walking to question her. "Don't you want to love? And be loved?"

Noticing his stop, Ino took a step back to be level with him. Looking around, she saw that they were in the exact spot they were in during their first encounter. Finally, she glanced up, as she always did when addressing him, and stared hard into Itachi's eyes, her own eyes shining as a challenging smile was born on her lips.

"I don't need love."

* * *

**A/N:** Extra information! I'm almost finished writing this story now. In total, this story will contain about 13 or 14 chapters. Just letting you know :)

Don't forget to review! Pretty please! :) :) :)


	6. First Date

**A/N: **This chapter was EXTREMELY difficult to write... that's why it took so long to update, which I apologize for. I went ahead and wrote the rest of the chapters for this story, since they were a lot more easier to come up with. -_- Oh well. It's a bit long too. Hope you like it :)

* * *

"Let's go out."

"Aren't we out right now?"

"On a date."

"What?" Ino couldn't believe Itachi's proposal.

"A date."

"I don't DO dates."

"Scared?" Itachi asked, glancing at the girl.

"Of dates? No. I just don't go out on dates anymore."

"Scared of falling in love with me." Itachi smirked, knowing how ridiculous he sounded, but he wasn't afraid to push her buttons.

_HAHA. Is he serious right now?_

Ino scoffed and chose not to reply to that statement.

"One date?"

"Will you leave me alone after? And the whole 'week' thing is cancelled?"

"Hn."

"Forever? "

"If we go on a date, the week's 'reservation' will end right now."

Reaching the end of the park which consequently led to the busy city streets, Ino and Itachi stopped to depart, and finally she gave him an official answer.

"Fine. One date. Maximum three hours. Pick me up at seven." Turning on her heel dramatically and taking a step away from him, Ino was about to strut away when she forgot to add something. "No sex."

* * *

Ino had the toughest time trying to decide on her outfit for the dreaded date. Usually, for her other "dates", she would just wear a very short and very tight dress that would get the dates excited for what would happen later on that night, even though they were giving up money for it. Itachi, on the other hand, was a different situation.

In the end, she dressed herself in a very thin, lacy, beige coloured tank top tucked into her favourite black high-waisted skirt that was about twelve inches above her knees, just covering her bottom. On top of the shirt was a black blazer, sticking to her in all the right spots, showing off her curved back. For her shoes she selected a pair of beige booties that matched her shirt and her accessories consisted of a long necklace with a large heart charm, small pearl earrings, and a long chained purse. As usual, her hair was tied up in one ponytail.

The time amused her; it was only a quarter to seven. Never had Ino gotten ready for a date so early before. Her dates always waited for her to perfect herself to the max, which took a minimum of fifteen minutes _after _the dates arrived on the designated time. She spent the next fifteen minutes being very unlike herself by actually being nervous for this upcoming date. Ino kept fidgeting around, finding anything that would distract her from the uneasy feeling that she hardly ever had. Exactly at seven o'clock, no minute later, there was a brief knock on the door.

The uneasy feeling was swept away as Ino hesitantly opened the door to Uchiha Itachi, standing infront of her in a pair of black dress pants and a crisp white button up shirt. The top few buttons were open so his necklace could be seen. In his hand was the unforgettable blue tulip.

* * *

Carlton saw them approach the door from inside and held it open, allowing them to leave the building.

"Hi, Carl!"

"Good evenin' Miss Yamanaka." He turned to Itachi and his head dropped in a bow. "Sir."

"Oh, Carl, you know you don't have to call any of my dates "sir"! This is Uchiha Itachi." Ino gestured towards Itachi. "Itachi, this is Carl."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Mr. Uchi-"

Itachi raised a hand to stop the doorman. "Itachi is fine."

"Well, likewise Itachi. I wish you both an enjoyable night."

"Thanks, Carl. See you later!"

Itachi raised a hand in salute before grabbing Ino's hand and guiding her down the sidewalk.

"Hey!" A few steps later, Ino released her hand from his grip and took it back. "Did I ever say you could hold my hand?"

"Asking to hold one's hand is very... mood-killing. Is it not?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "On a date with anyone? Yes. But you should know by now I'm not anyone."

To prove this Ino walked on ahead of him, acting as the leader of the two, even though she had no idea where she was going.

"So where are we going?" When she got no reponse, she stopped walking and turned around. "Itachi?"

He was almost twenty metres behind her, leaning against a car that was parked on the side of the road. Even from that far away she could see his smirk.

When Ino trotted back, Itachi made a comment. "It's like you disregard everything."

"Oh, shut up." Her eyes shifted to the car, an eyebrow raised. "This is yours?"

She didn't have to think twice to recognize the car as a Bugatti Veyron, a car marketed at over a million dollars. Almost all her customers had shown up to pick her up in the fanciest car they could find, as if trying to prove something to Ino. By far, this was the most luxurious, not to mention expensive, and it seemed Itachi wasn't even making an attempt, unlike the rest of them. That was pretty hot.

"Wow." Her head nodded in approval. "Impressive."

"I'm glad it satisfies you."

Itachi opened the door and gestured for her to enter. Ino took her seat in the passenger seat as the sharp scent of leather shot through her nose. She loved it. A few moments passed and Itachi was sitting beside her in the driver's seat. She still had no idea where their destination was, but she didn't ask. Head gently leaning against the window, Ino looked out at the city that was moving past her at a rapid speed. Surprises could be fun. Sometimes.

* * *

Ino looked at herself in the mirror and powdered her nose. She thought back to just under an hour ago, when Itachi had given her the flower.

_"Here."_

_"This is..."_

_"The flower I stole from you."_

_"Why are you giving this to me?"_

_"You wanted it, did you not?"_

_"I did. I do. I just find it hard to believe that a guy like you would keep a flower for this long!"_

She dropped her compact back into her purse and extracted a tube of clear lip gloss and swiped it on her peachy lips.

_"It's a one of a kind, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah it is. I've been around flowers for all my life and I've never seen a tulip of this colour before."_

_"Why don't you go put it inside. I'll wait here."_

Running a hand through her waterfall of blonde hair, Ino put the lip gloss away.

_"Were you planning on giving me the tulip from the start?"_

_"No. I happened to see it right before I left."_

_"Well... thank you."_

She gave herself one more look with a flashy smile before leaving the tiny washroom to return to her date.

* * *

"I still can't believe I didn't know about this place. Noone has ever told me about here, and I know everything!"

Itachi let out a chuckle at the remark the girl beside him made. He himself was pretty impressed with the location they were currently in. If he had not asked around, there was no way he would have found a restaurant like this.

They were sitting next to eachother cozily on a sofa in a cozy little restaurant called the Rooftop Cabana. As stated in the name, the restaurant was located on the roof of a shopping building, allowing those who were hungry sometime during their day of shopping, they could head on up to the lovely restaurant rather than eat at the populated food court. As a cabana should be, the dining area was surrounded by decorative drapes and curtains. When it rained, of course, it seemed as though the curtains would not be strong enough to provide shelter for customers, but surprisingly it did. The restaurant was only big enough to have a capacity of about twenty seats, with a large circular fireplace in the middle of the area. Rather than dining tables and chairs, it was full of low tables and comfortable looking sofas and bean bag chairs, allowing it to look more like a lounge scene. The furniture were not all the same, but did cooperate with eachother. At the table Itachi and Ino were at, there were linen cloths, cutlery, clean plates, a lovely single orchid, and their drinks that had arrived during the time Ino was fixing herself up. A beer for the male and a cosmopolitan for the female.

"Everything?"

He was challenging her. He knew she loved challenges, and _she_ knew that he knew.

"Of course!" Ino winked at Itachi. "Ask me anything and I'll give you the answer."

_Wow, did you just wink at him? It looks like you're actually enjoying this date, Ino!_

Itachi gave a moment to think about the first question before asking, "What's the temperature right now?"

"Hmm. I would say ten degrees celsius."

"When's my birthday?"

"December 25th."

"How many metres are we above the ground?"

"Five hundred."

"None of your answers have been correct," A minuscule frown sketched onto his face.

"Who said I would give you the right answers?"

Itachi couldn't hold back a smile. "Touche."

"So," Ino brushed her bangs back. "When _is_ your birthday?"

"June 9th. And yourself?"

"September 23rd. Not too close yet, unlike yours. Are you expecting a gift from me?"

Itachi chuckled and shook his head. "I am not. It seems I won't be getting any for the next few birthdays."

Ino tilted her head to the side in wonderment and asked, "Why is that?"

"The car was a gift from my previous birthday, from the Akatsuki members. One of them wasn't too thrilled about the money they spent..."

"I see. So that car is gonna be your birthday gift from them for the next, let's see, until you die?"

"Hn." The man grabbed his drink, but merely kept it in his hands, feeling the cold.

"Anyway. I was wondering if you bought that car yourself. I know for a fact it's fairly expensive."

"Are you saying I can't afford it?" Itachi teased her, something he never really did.

"Oh, shut up." The blonde ordered, teasing him back.

"Perhaps, we shall have a drink before our food comes out." He raised his drink to Ino, who grabbed her own drink. "To our first date."

"And hopefully our last." Ino flashed her bright smile at her date, who now realized she wasn't completely serious about this statement and began to laugh.

She realized this was the first time she heard Itachi laugh. Not one of those chuckles he gave when Ino did or said something humourous, but a real laugh. Watching him tilt his head back and laugh out into the night with his eyes closed brought happiness to Ino, for some startling unknown reason, and she let out a few laughs as well.

"Wow. I've never heard the great Uchiha Itachi laugh like that before."

"Noone has made me laugh like that before." Itachi was still laughing softly when he glanced over at her.

Their eyes locked and the laughing stopped, but they were both smiling.

"Hopefully, you were indeed kidding."

"Who knows." Ino gave him a sly smirk and finally raised her glass. "Cheers!"

Itachi brought his drink towards her's and the sound of the glass hitting shot straight through the night.

"Cheers."

* * *

When they reached her building, Ino quickly realized that it was already past twelve o'clock, considering midnight was when Carl's shift ended and he was replaced by another doorman.

_So much for "maximum three hours", Ino._

They rode the elevator silently, from pure exhaustion or just the comfort of the late night, neither knew. After taking the few steps to Ino's door, Ino and Itachi both stood facing eachother.

"You know what? I actually had a _lot _of fun tonight," Ino grinned. "You can be pretty damn charming when you want, Uchiha."

"Are you saying you weren't expecting to enjoy the date?" Itachi stood with his hands in his pockets, also smiling.

"That's exactly it."

They shared a laugh, and suddenly the laughter ended. The atmosphere became awkward, surprising both of them. Ino was fiddling with her keys as Itachi gained an interest for the colour of the hallway walls.

"Well." Ino looked up at Itachi who looked down at her upon hearing her voice. "Good night."

Ino turned to face her door when Itachi, without a sound, grabbed her hand and spun her around to face him. He pulled her to him as his other hand encircled her waist, their faces mere centimetres apart.

Ino's eyes widened at the sudden behaviour. "What are you-"

Itachi's hand left Ino's and reached her chin and tilted her face up, his own face leaning down to gently placed his lips on hers. Ino's hands were still together holding her keys as Itachi brought her closer against his chest, her eyes still opened wide from the unexpected kiss. She got over the shock and closed her eyes, savouring the feeling of his lips as she kissed him back, placing a hand on his chest. After a few delicate moments, Itachi slowly pulled away from their tender kiss and whispered so softly that she barely heard him.

"Good night."

He released her from his embrace and took a step back.

"Night."

Upon her quick reply, Ino quickly entered her home and closed the door, not looking back at Itachi who was still standing in the same spot. Her hand clutched to her chest, Ino leaned her head back against the door as she tried to breathe steadily again. The beating of her heartbeat could be heard so well that it scared her.

It was then, when she realized that for the first time in her whole life, she had butterflies in her stomach.

_Well, that's new..._

* * *

**A/N:** AH FIRST REAL KISS! XD


	7. Avoiding Love

**A/N: **Yay! It's already December! CHRISTMAS :D It's kind of a short chapter this time and I felt bad that the previous chapter took so long to update, so this one is updating quickly! Anyway, hope you like it. :)

* * *

"I don't know what's gotten into me! I don't think about guys like this. Ever! Argh!"

Out of frustration, Yamanaka Ino grabbed the menu of the restaurant she was sitting in and began smacking it against her forehead until a hand grabbed the menu put it on the table.

"Stop that before I end up having to call _you_ forehead, Ino-pig."

"Sakura! I'm going crazy. Our first real kiss has been replaying in my head over and over, it's driving me insane!"

"Okay. First of all, you need to calm down. People are staring." Haruno Sakura let her friend look around the restaurant to see that indeed some curious faces were staring at her, some even giggling. "Second, let me get this straight. The two times you guys do _it_, you don't feel anything and it wasn't special, but when you guys just kiss you got butterflies?"

Ino nodded. "With no tongue."

"Wow. No tongue, and you got butterflies?"

"AH! Sakura!" Ino dropped her head onto the table, barely missing the clean plate. "What's wrong with me? Is this what it's like when below average girls deal with guys? Tell me!"

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you indirectly called me below average and help you out, because I'm nice." Sakura glared at Ino's platinum blonde head, knowing she wouldn't see the look on her face. "Maybe you're, oh I don't know, falling in love?"

Ino's head instantly shot back up to look at her friend.

"Oh ha ha. How funny of you to joke around like that." She thanked the waitress who had brought out their drinks before continuing. "I don't fall in love. Remember?"

"Things change, Ino. It usually happens when one does a little thing called growing up."

"Ugh!" She dropped her head back down and Sakura rolled her eyes with a sigh. Sometimes Ino could be such a drama queen. Especially in public.

"Have you seen him since?"

"Nope. I've been hiding at home to make sure I don't run into him. I know we don't run in the same circles, but knowing him, he can find me fairly easily."

"You do know that he knows where you live, right?" Sakura poked Ino's head until she got back up. Again.

"Oh shhh, Sakura." Ino grabbed her drink and took a sip. "Stop being so smart for once."

"Fine." The young doctor leaned back against her chair and crossed her arms infront of her chest. "Has he called you?"

"Eight times."

"Wow."

"Yup."

Sakura stirred her drink with the straw and she spoke, "He doesn't seem like the guy to keep calling a girl he can't get."

Ino shrugged and grabbed her menu once again, this time to actually browse through the options for lunch.

"Why don't you give him a chance, Ino? What's the harm?"

"I could kill myself?"

"Ino." Sakura's voice was stern, proving to her best friend exactly how serious she was.

Ino sighed and look at her menu, frustrated that not only did she not know what to do with the Itachi situation, but also because the restaurant did not have their usual lunch special which was what she had been looking forward to.

"...I hate my life."

* * *

After the somewhat unsatisfying lunch, Ino wished Sakura a nice day at work and they walked off in the opposite directions, but not before Sakura gave another lecture about the whole Itachi situation. The blonde walked a distance before she reached the park and was surprised to see a male with long black hair in a ponytail, but it wasn't the one she was thinking about.

"Shika!" Ino trotted over to where he was standing, and to her shock, without a cigarette propped in his mouth.

"Oi."

Another dose of awkwardness had hit Ino. Seriously, what was going on with her? Since when did Yamanaka Ino ever feel awkward? Especially when this was Shika, her best friend and her brother. Even in the most awkward situations with complete strangers she could keep a cool head but it seemed like that wasn't the case anymore.

"Shika... I-"

"Save it, Ino." His tone was so harsh that Ino's cerulean eyes widened in shock, then turned into anger.

"I'm trying to apol-"

"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed and leaned his head back to face the sky. "Can you let me apologize?"

Ino's eyes widened even more, if that was even possible, but did not speak again. The lazy Shikamaru was apologizing for something?

"I shouldn't have lashed out on you like that. You know I don't think of you as filthy or anything else I may have said that night." When he looked at her, Ino could see that he was indeed really sorry.

"I know. I'm sorry for being such a drag."

Shikamaru chuckled. Ino smiled and took this as a sign to throw her arms around his neck in a hug.

"Troublesome." However, he smiled and hugged her back.

* * *

"So how have you been? You look a little down."

They were now lying on the green grass, side by side, participating in Shikamaru's favourite passtime: looking at the clouds. Ino had insisted they go somewhere nostalgic and practically dragged Shikamaru to this area. On their way to this area, she had called Chouji only to find that he was out with his parents at an all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant, which he would definitely not miss, forcing Ino to roll her eyes.

"Just some issues with some people. Not a big deal."

"Who?"

"Noone."

They lay there in silence, comfortable ontop of the fluffy grass as the spring sunshine blanketed them. Ino quietly sat up and looked at Shikamaru, who was still lying down on the soft grass. His hands were behind his head and his left leg bent at the knee with his other ankle placed ontop of the bent knee. It seemed he was sleeping until he opened his mouth and began speaking, his eyes still resting.

"Whoever it is, Ino, give him a chance."

She was startled with his words, and stayed silent for a moment before whispering, "...How did you know?"

"There's nothing I don't know, Ino." When the lazy genius opened his eyes and saw the confused expression placed on Ino's face, he sighed and propped himself up on his elbows. "How about we make a deal."

"A deal?"

"If you give whoever a chance, I'll quit smoking. Forever."

Ino's eyebrow shot up, more amused than confused at this point. "You want me to go out with this guy that badly, huh?"

"Ino." Shikamaru sat up properly with a sigh so he could look directly at her. "I know you better than I know anyone else. So I know why you're acting this way. I know you."

"Shika, what on earth are you talking about?"

"The truth is, you've been doing this for so long but you can't keep doing this forever, and you know it."

"Do... what?"

"Avoid love."

* * *

"Hey. It's me."

"Hey."

"Sorry I didn't call you back. I was... busy, the last few days."

"I see."

"So... when are you taking me out for our next date?"

* * *

**A/N: **And the romance begins...

More characters added next chapter :D**  
**


	8. Family

**A/N:** Less dialogue compared to the other chapters. More description (which means longer paragraphs... SORRY!). I assure you that you will like it though. I had a really amusing time writing this chapter.

Enjoy! :)

* * *

Dates, dates, and even more dates filled up the lives of Itachi and Ino. Without the sex, of course. They were taking it slow, and both seemed to enjoy the relationship that was strengthening. It seemed the more time they spent together, the more they would open up to eachother. Ino even got to meet the group of people Itachi considered as his family; the Akatsuki. She was informed that a few of the members were not present in Konoha, but most of the members she got a chance to meet and spend some time with.

The first time the whole group went out with Ino they went to play laser tag, divided up into two teams. Ino's team was losing, therefore she received many insults from the very young and religious member of the group, Hidan. Like many girls, she claimed he was very attractive, until he opened his mouth. His exact words were, "You call this a fucking game, you dumb blondie?" A punch was thrown at his face from the mentioned blonde after hearing these words but he saw it coming and ducked, allowing the punch to hit the person who was standing behind Hidan. Tobi was rolling around on the ground, holding onto one side of his orange mask that had developed a deep crack, yelling, "Tobi is a good boy! Tobi is a good boy! Please don't hurt Tobi!" Upon seeing this, the Jashin follower gripped onto his bare stomach, since he always left his shirt open, laughing at the sight infront of him. Ino then kneed Hidan in the crotch, who joined Tobi on the ground, but his cries of pain were more definite than the masked man's.

A few hours later, Ino decided to make up for the pain she had caused Tobi, even though it was an accident, and took him out for ice cream. He was very hesitant about her proposal, staying approximately three metres away from her as they walked to a local dessert shop. Sometimes she would glance at him and he would hide behind a tree, as if trying to avoid being in her view. However, once he received the three scoops of varied ice cream in a waffle cone, he forgot about the incident from earlier and thanked Ino for treating Tobi, who was a good boy.

Kakuzu, a pecuniary man who covered his lower part of his face with a mask, was very intrigued with Ino's style of receiving money. His neon green eyes frightened her at first, but clearly he had found out about Ino's not-so-secret job that had gotten Itachi and her together, and was very open with asking her questions on her success, leaving Ino speechless in his forwardness. Before she could open her mouth in response, Itachi had dragged her away, leaving Kakuzu to himself with no answers he could use for guidance to obtaining a pleasurable amount of money.

Ino got a chance to see the workshop of Deidara, a young blonde artist who's hairstyle resembled Ino's and who focused on clay sculptures, and Sasori, a red headed artist who focused on puppets. They argued a lot, even in her presence, debating on whether true art was something that blossomed for one moment before withering away forever or something that endured a great length of time to prove its beauty is eternal. "Do you think I can make a sculpture of you, un?" Deidara had asked Ino during her visit. She said that would be a fun experience as she had never been anyone's muse before. Sasori randomly stated that Deidara also did nude sculptures. Ino asked how he knew this and Sasori merely smirked as Deidara's face blushed even in the dark light. When she left the room to grab a snack, she assumed both males thought she had left for good, for when she stuck her head into the door of the workshop, they were found with their arms entwined around eachother, making out ferociously against the wall. They must have sensed someone was there because they both halted to see Ino at the door, both giving her identical smirks before returning to their previous state as if she wasn't even there. To her own surprise, she found that watching the two fairly attractive men hooking up like that was very amusing and even kind of hot. Ino stayed by the door and was very pleased with what she was watching until Itachi came by, interrupting her private show.

A few days after the artists' incident, Ino ran into Zetsu, a rather odd member of the Akatsuki, while on her daily walks through the park. Half of his face and body was black, while the other was white. He seemed to bear two different personalities as well, one for his black side and one for his white, which led to him basically having conversations with himself, as he had two different sides to represent two different opinions. They shared a passion for plants and flowers, so it wasn't surprising that they spent a good hour picking the named objects. Ino was very comfortable around Zetsu and appreciate having someone to share her greatest adoration with. It was when he began talking to himself about Ino that made her just a tad uncomfortable. His white side said, "You are very pretty, Ino.", which made Ino smile as she accepted his compliment. Not too long later, his black side had added, "I think you would taste very nice for dinner." Ino then excused herself, claiming she had to get to work, and ran out of the park as fast as her long legs would allow her to.

By far, Ino's favourite Akatsuki member, other than Itachi of course, was Kisame, an indescribably tall man who resembled a shark. It was not only because he was Itachi's partner in crimes and his closest friend out of the whole group of Akatsuki that she liked him, but his possession of confidence rivaled Ino's which made him fun to be around. Despite the somewhat frightening appearance of his, which included being way over six feet tall and a sneer drawn of his face, Ino knew that deep down he was very loyal to his friends. She wasn't sure if it was because she was the girlfriend of his partner in the Akatsuki, but Kisame seemed to be very fond of Ino and liked being around her. One day, Ino made the impulsive mistake of taking Kisame out to her favourite sushi restaurant where they happened to be having a special on shark fin soup, resulting in the large man running out of the restaurant barely containing his tears. He sat on the sidewalk with his face buried in his hands as Ino apologized repeatedly and made an attempt to comfort him for almost a half hour, until she finally decided to call Itachi for some help. Itachi got Kisame back up on his feet and into a cab within thirty seconds, leaving Ino to stand alone on the street, her stomach growling.

* * *

It was a hectic few days for Ino, trying to discover and keep track of the personalities of each member she had met so far. There was no doubt that she had to admit, those boys were definitely fun to be around, despite their flaws or moments of annoyance once in a while. Now she was spending a relaxing day with Itachi, her most adored member of the criminal group called the Akatsuki.

They had spent the day at Konoha's amusement park where they discovered that Itachi was not a fan of spinning around when they went on the ride with the spinning teacups. Ino could not refrain from laughing at Itachi's unexpected weakness, even though she did feel bad for him just a little bit.

In a small picnic area within the amusement park, they were resting, mostly due to Itachi's conditions from the teacup ride. He was sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a large tree, his legs bent so his knees were sticking up. Between his legs was Ino, unlike Itachi, her legs sprawled straight infront of her with her body leaning back against Itachi's chest. Her elbows rested on top of his knees while his arms encircled her waist, hugging her tightly.

"Do you miss my brother?"

"Well that's random." Ino didn't expect the mention of Sasuke, especially right then. When Itachi didn't say anything back, she thought about her answer, but decided to pose a question instead.

"Do you?"

"Ladies first."

"Jerk."

Itachi laughed and kissed the back of Ino's neck. "Please?"

"Fine. No, I don't."

"At all?"

Ino turned her body around to face Itachi and decided to tell him the whole truth. "He was just a phase back in my adolescent past. It was because of him Sakura and I were enemies for a few years. I began to realize that what I felt was infatuation, unlike Sakura who actually loved him so I stopped. Then he broke her heart when he left, and since then he hasn't been a part of my life. Or Sakura's."

"Hn." Itachi closed his eyes as he leaned back against the tree.

Ino stared longingly at his peaceful face. She didn't bother asking him again if he missed his own little brother. It was quite obvious that he did. She was already well aware of the tragic past of the Uchiha family, which included the family making plans to overturn the Konoha government which resulted in Itachi, who worked for the government, having to kill his family with the exception of his little brother, leaving himself and Sasuke to be the last known members of the Uchiha family. She knew Itachi had given up on Sasuke ever believing the truth and forgiving his old brother for his actions that had led to Sasuke growing up with no real family.

Itachi opened his eyes and smirked as he saw Ino's eyes watching him. "Do you wish it was his arms you were in right now?"

She lightly slapped his face with a laugh. "Don't joke around like that."

Itachi chuckled and brought his face to Ino's and kissed her.

"Come on." Ino stood up and grabbed Itachi's hands, using all her strength to pull him up to join her. "We're going back to the spinning cups!"

Before he could object, Ino had dragged him into one of those cups he hated oh so much, and saw Ino's beautiful blonde head tilt back into a monstrous laugh at the sight of him feeling sick to his stomach. Again.

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **Gah the Akatsuki part just came out so easily, but once I reached the Sasuke part it was such a drag...

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! (as a Christmas gift to me?)

Speaking of... I won't be able to update before Christmas (because I'm working on a oneshot with a Christmas theme! **MAKE SURE TO READ IT ONCE IT IS UPLOADED** :D).

So I will wish you all a very **MERRY CHRISTMAS **right now! :D I hope you guys have an amazing holiday!


	9. The Real Night

**A/N: **Hello! I hope you guys had an amazing Christmas. Now it's time for the NEW YEAR! :D

**Warning: **It's a very short chapter... When I say very, i mean, VERY. I'll update in less than a week to make up for it.**  
**

* * *

It was now the second week of April. The cherry blossoms were now blooming and Yamanaka Ino loved it.

The weather was starting to warm up a bit, and consequently the couple had decided to spend more time outdoors for their last few dates.

A few hours prior, Uchiha Itachi had taken his girlfriend out for an abnormally early dinner, then led her to the park where he surprised Ino by setting up a small picnic of a variety of desserts he knew she would like.

After eating a handful of different sweets, they laid together under the pink trees on a cozy blanket and had both fallen asleep for an unexpected couple hours, very much to their disbelief when they woke up.

Ino sat up, stretching her arms straight up into the air when Itachi wrapped his arms around her slender waist from behind and pulled her back down onto the blanket.

Laughing, she grabbed a fistful of cherry blossoms that had fallen to the ground and threw them at Itachi's face, who did not see that coming. They wrestled for a bit, and soon enough Ino was lying on the blanket with Itachi hovering over her, their lips barely touching. Realizing they were in a very public area with many people still out, despite the darkness that had taken over, Itachi removed himself from his position on Ino and sat up next to her.

He looked down at his love, who was still lying down. "Anything you want to do now?"

Ino lifted herself up to join Itachi and gently placed a hand on his cheek.

"Let's go back to my place."

* * *

Ino sat at the foot of her bed and slipped her shoes off, throwing them to the side.

Itachi wordlessly stood infront of her and held his hands out, as if expecting something. She placed her hands ontop of his open hands and he pulled her up. When he placed his hands on her hips, she wrapped her arms around his neck, almost as a reflex. Unexpectedly, Itachi started swaying gently side to side, and Ino couldn't help but giggle.

"What are you doing?"

"Dancing."

Ino's eyebrows formed a frown, but her lips were still smiling. "But there's no music."

"Hn."

Ino rested her cheek against his chest as she felt his chin gently graze the top of her blonde head. They stayed like this for a few moments, dancing to their own music.

The kiss started out slow and turned into a passionate deep kiss, holding eachother closer. Ino tugged on the bottom of his shirt, hinting him to take it off, which he did. Their lips met again as she unbuttoned her own shirt and dropped it to the ground. She then kissed down Itachi's neck and started kissing his chest as he removed the elastic from her hair, freeing the blonde waterfall of hair. She climbed back up his body and this time Itachi kissed her everywhere; along her jawline, down her neck, down her chest. He got down on his knees and began kissing her stomach, his hands placed on her hips.

Itachi was slightly confused when Ino suddenly took a step back, out of his arms. He stood up as he watched as she slid out of her skirt, now clad in just her bra and underwear.

Since the last time they slept together prior to being in a relationship, it was the most naked either of them had been. He had an idea of where this was heading.

"Are you sure?"

Ino nodded and took off the rest of her clothes and stood there, looking at Itachi. Following suit, Itachi took off the rest of his clothing as well, his eyes never breaking away from Ino's. Once fully naked he slowly took a step forward, ridding the empty space between their bodies. Ino lightly pressed her palms against his toned chest and leaned her head up, letting Itachi dip his head down to kiss her.

She pulled away, just an inch or two, so her blue orbs could meet his crimson ones. They were filled with not lust, but pure adoration, which Ino had never seen in a man's eyes before.

His lips captured Ino's again, and in one smooth motion, Itachi lifted her lean body up in the traditional bridal style and walked to the bed, their lips still locked.

Together they fell onto the bed, just as they did the first night they were together.

But this time it was different.

It was a night of love. True love.

Nothing else.

* * *

**A/N: **My my, despite the shortness of this chapter it was fairly difficult to write as well... T_T I was originally going to make this chapter a lemon, but then I would have to change the rating of the story, and blah blah blah. Too much of a drag... (how troublesome!) XD

Don't forget to review!

And I would like to wish you all an early **Happy New Year!** :)

**SEE YOU IN 2011!**


	10. Love

**A/N: **HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! :D **2011** ALREADY... WOW.**  
**

* * *

**"Three words. Eight letters. Say it and I'm yours."**  
- Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

* * *

It was nice to wake up in someone's arms; The arms of someone you knew was there to protect you, comfort you, and care for you.

She could hear his light breathing, free of snoring, and his heartbeat could also be heard with her ear against his bare chest.

Making sure not to wake him, she moved her head slightly to take a glimpse at his face. He was still fast asleep, most likely tired from the previous night, or maybe enjoying his dream that was playing in his head. She couldn't look away from him. Everytime she tried, it hurt her, to not see him infront of her. She didn't want to waste any time by being away from him. Not one minute. Not even a second.

Was this... love?

* * *

"What's going on, Itachi?"

It was half a day after they woke up in eachother's arms. It was now hours after the couple had ate breakfast and the male had departed to return to his own home. Ino had received a brief text telling her to meet him outside her apartment building. When she exited the elevator after swiftly throwing on a coat, she could see Itachi standing outside, along with the rest of the Akatsuki. Quickly, she went to identify what the issue was.

"We're being sent out of the country for a mission. It's an emergency."

"When will you be back?"

"We're not sure of the details yet." He looked very distracted, avoiding any eye contact with Ino, trying to find something else to look at. "If it goes well it shouldn't be over two weeks."

His avoiding gaze didn't go by unnoticed through the eyes of Ino. "Is something on your mind? You look bothered, even for you."

Itachi hastily grabbed her small hand and pulled her away from the group without a word. He held her perfect face in both his hands and looked straight into her eyes.

"I love you, Ino."

Ino's heart skipped a beat and she felt something in her stomach. Did she have butterflies again? No, it was a different feeling. She wasn't nervous in an excited way. She was afraid. Scared. Realizing how incapable she is of handling those three words, Ino looked down at the ground as she shook her head, refusing to make eye contact. "Itachi, I-"

"Ino. Shh. I don't want you to feel obliged to say those words back to me." He tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear gently. "I just want you to know... I love you."

Itachi kissed her forehead. By the time Ino looked back up, Itachi was gone, and the tears began to fall.

* * *

"_I love you, Ino."_

Those little words rewound in her brain over and over until it made her dizzy. Why did he have to say those words? She thought she would be able to accept them by now but she couldn't. For her, it didn't feel right. Thinking how unnecessary love was for so many years, it was downright a pain in the ass when things like this confused her, playing with her mind till she lost all control of thought.

Her tears were washed away from the rain she walked through, overpowering them. Each step her feet took led her somewhere but she had no idea where they were taking her. What seemed like hours later, Ino's feet were stationary on the ground at a door as her arm reached up to ring a doorbell. When Ino realized the door was now open and someone was standing infront of her, she lifted her head up to see a woman.

"Ino! Is everything okay? Why are you all wet?"

"Can I stay for a bit, mom?"

* * *

"Mom. How did you know daddy was meant for you?"

Ino was now in cozy and dry, albeit rather small, clothes she had stolen out of her closet that was full of clothes from her young adolescent years. Her elbows were leaning on the surface of the long kitchen counter with her face placed in her hands, watching her mother prepare tea.

"My, what an awfully random question, Ino." Yamanaka Inora smiled at her daughter's unpredictable question. "Is there something that triggered the question?"

She shook her head as a fib. "Just curious."

"Well. As stupid as I thought he was, I loved him." Inora passed a cup of green tea to Ino. "He made me happier than I had ever been in my whole life."

Ino sat down at the dining table holding her cup of tea and nodded, beginning to understand the concept. Her mother followed her to the table, bringing a plate of freshly baked cookies.

"One day, you will meet a man who makes you feel as happy as your dad makes me happy." She gently brushed Ino's recently blow-dried hair with her fingers before walking back to the kitchen with a cookie in her hand. "And just like your father, he will be foolishly in love with you too, unable to live a second without you."

As if on cue, Ino's dad entered the kitchen with a bouquet of flowers in hand. He crept up behind her mother who was nibbling on her cookie and covered her eyes before releasing her only to spin her around to present the flowers.

They shared a kiss and many giggles before Inora playfully shoved her half-eaten cookie in her husband's mouth. Ino finished her cookie as she watched her mother gaze at the flowers and her father grinned satisfyingly, oblivious to his daughter sitting just a few metres away.

Ino stood up from her chair, grabbing her father's attention. "Since when were you so romantic, daddy?"

"Princess! What are you doing hiding over there? Come here!" Yamanaka Inoichi opened his arms in a welcoming manner for his daughter as she ran over to hug him. He lifted her up and spun her around, just as he did ever since she was just a child.

"Ino wanted to stay for the night." Inora found a vase next to a nearby window for the new flowers to rest in.

"Is that so? Since when did you want to stay here overnight?" Suspecting something, Inoichi looked at Ino with an eyebrow raised. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine. Actually, I have to go somewhere really quickly to do something." She grabbed her still damp coat and put it over herself, forgetting what she was currently wearing. "I'll be back in an hour!"

She ran out of the door, leaving her parents stunned at her sudden departure.

Inoichi looked at his wife questioningly, "Did we say something wrong?"

* * *

"Itachi!"

Itachi turned around to be surprised at seeing Ino, whom he quickly embraced and soon released, his hands on her shoulders.

"Ino! What are you doing here?"

"I... need to... tell you... something."

Before she could say what exactly it was, Ino bent over, gripping her knees, trying to get her breathing to go back to its regular state.

"Are you okay?" Itachi frowned in worry.

She nodded her blonde head and raised a hand at him, indicating that she would be fine in a moment or two. Ino also reminded herself to not get used to Shikamaru and Chouji's lazy habits.

Upon noticing she would be okay, he chuckled momentarily. "What in god's name are you wearing?"

Ino nodded her head hastily, ignoring his statement and wanting to get to the point. She noticed all the other Akatsuki members watching her amusingly, especially eying her ridiculous outfit, but she didn't care. After catching her breath, she wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck and looked straight into his crimson eyes; Just as she did when she told him she didn't need love. This time, she said something different. She wanted her words to contradict what she said to him just a month ago in the park. Smiling, she gained the courage to open her mouth.

"I love you, too."

* * *

**A/N:** What a nice start to the new year, if I do say so myself. :)

PS. So hard choosing a name for Ino's mom... -_-

Reviewwwwwwww! :)**  
**


	11. Reunion

**A/N:** FINALLY UPDATED! Sorry I didn't update in a disturbingly long time. I thought I would have time to update at least once before Spring Break but...school was a pain. Anyway, at least it's SPRING BREAK. :D I hope you all had a great month of January as well as February!

Mind you, in this story, the new female character will have the personality she had when she was a child (sorta) as opposed to the personality you see when she is older (to be blunt, let's say mild OOC-ness). You'll understand when you see who it is and if you are up to date (kinda) with Shippuden. Also, let's pretend her and the other new character's ages are a little less than what they should be...

Enjoy!

* * *

Yamanaka Ino walked around somewhat aimlessly through the mall, all alone. She had just finished eating lunch with Shikamaru and Chouji and expected they would spend some time together but the boys had plans to see a movie with a few other guys. Not wanting to be a "drag" by complaining or dragging along after them, she let them go wordlessly, realizing she should appreciate and be thankful for the time they had been giving her the past week.

It did not occur to the blonde that she would miss her boyfriend so much, especially when he was only gone for one week so far. She used her friends as major distractions, and they knew this; they spent all their free or somewhat free time with Ino, knowing that she would throw a fit or possibly go through an incongruous depressed phase, which they did not want to see. The pattern was that Shikamaru and Chouji would keep Ino company during the afternoons and Sakura would replace them during the evenings after her shifts at the hospital.

Now, since the Yamanaka had noone around but had plenty of time to spare, she decided to do a little window shopping.

Ino walked over to a large map that was centred in the middle of the mall to see the list of stores she might have any interest in. Upon feeling a light tap on her shoulder, the blonde turned around to see a rather familiar looking female. The female looked a few years older than herself, and had medium length indigo hair with a light blue paper flower placed on the right side of her head. She sported a labret piercing just below her small smile, and the lids of her amber eyes was shaded with very light purple eyeshadow.

"Konan?" Ino queried. Seeing the nod the woman gave her, Ino laughed and threw her arms around her long lost friend in an embrace. "I haven't seen you in what, eight years? I missed you!"

"I missed you, too." Konan hugged the younger female tightly before releasing her, only to examine her face properly. "Wow, you've grown up so much! Beautiful, as expected."

"Speak for yourself!" Ino grinned. "It's so random seeing you here though. Are you visiting from Amegakure?"

"Not really..." Konan looked down at the ground and gently bit her thumb, a habit she had claimed back when she was a child for times when she grew nervous. "I actually need to talk to you about something..."

* * *

"YOU'RE in the Akatsuki?"

"Shhhh! God, Ino." Konan glanced around at their surroundings, making sure noone overheard.

"Sorry! So you're in the," Ino leaned her head forward and whispered, "you-know-what? Since when?"

"Since it began. Yahiko created the group years ago."

"Yahiko did? Really?" Ino retreated back against her chair. "So that means Nagato is in it, too?"

"Yes."

"Wow! I've spent so much time with the group the past few weeks and I never realized you were one of the few members that were away at the time." She grabbed her iced coffee from the table and took a sip of it with a straw. "But was this all you needed to talk to me about?"

"Well, I know you're with Itachi now..." The purple-head grabbed a napkin from the table and began to fold it.

Ino glanced down at her wrist to fix her bracelet. "Mmm hmm?"

"I wanted to keep you updated with what's going on."

The younger of the two lifted her blonde head up, her eyes full of fear. "Did something happen to him?"

"No!" Konan looked up from her hands and shook her head abruptly. "Not that I was told. It just seems they'll be taking a little longer with their mission. He wanted me to make sure you weren't worried."

"Oh, thank goodness! You scared me there for a sec, Konan." Ino fetched her drink again and slurped fairly loudly before a thought occurred to her. "Wait, if you're a part of the group why aren't you with them?"

It seemed she was expecting this question to be asked as Konan looked back down at the folded crane in her hands on the table rather than at her long time friend. "I'm pregnant."

"OH! Congratulations! Jeez, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Nonetheless she was extremely happy for Konan and reached across the table to grab her hand an excited squeeze.

"Thank you, Ino." Konan gave her an appreciative smile. "I'm very excited to become a mother."

"You're going to be an amazing mother." A genuine smile spread across her lips. "Yahiko?"

"Yes. But..." Tears filled Konan's amber eyes.

Ino's smile vanished upon seeing a tear fall on her friend's face. "Konan?"

As more tears fell, the Amegakure native whispered, "He was killed just last week."

"Oh, Konan." Ino walked around the table and gently hugged Konan. "I'm so sorry!"

"I'll be okay with some time." Konan managed a small nod. "I think Nagato took it even harder than I did."

Ino sat back down and watched Konan wipe away her tears, knowing that nothing she could say would make things better. She thought back to the first time she met Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato; the Ame orphans. They had stopped by Ino's house, one night, hoping to get some spare food, but to their surprise they were not only given food but also an offer to stay over for a few nights. The three couldn't bare to trouble the Yamanakas by staying any longer so they bid their farewells, parting with Ino, whom they had gotten fairly close with. The story of their brutal history that eventually led to an everlasting bond between the three of them always brought tears in her ocean eyes. Each had lost their family to the great war in Japan, and their tragic losses were what had attracted them together to become a family of their own. Ino knew how it felt to choose your own family; she considered Shikamaru and Chouji to be her family, even though none of the three had lost any members of their families.

Ino waited until all of Konan's tears were wiped away before asking, "Is that what the mission is for? Avenging Yahiko?"

"They didn't give me any information about what the mission was." The older of the two unfolded the crane, forcing it to become just a regular napkin with lots of creases. "I just got a message yesterday saying they should be back sometime next week."

The blonde let out a sigh and reached for Konan's hand again to give it a comforting squeeze. "It'll be okay. Not just the mission, but everything."

Ino smiled and pointedly looked at Konan's stomach where, even though it did not show, she knew her unborn baby was resting at that moment.

Konan closed her eyes and placed a gentle hand on her stomach.

"Thank you."

* * *

Ino and Konan were waiting anxiously in the arrival wing of the airport, just outside the baggage claim. It was just over a week after the girls had reunited in the mall. Konan had received a message from Nagato declaring their return from their mission and she decided it would be nicer and a lot more comforting for the both of them if Ino came along with her. According to the big screens sported all around the airport, the Akatsuki's flight had arrived approximately hour ago, but none of them were out yet.

Ino's impatience was slowly taking over her anxiety. "What the hell is taking them so long?"

Konan shrugged and bit her thumb gently, looking around with worrisome eyes.

Ino turned around, her back now facing the door where people came from the luggage claim, and looked outside through the large window wall of the airport. The rain was pouring as hard as ever, momentarily confusing her to believe she was in Amegakure rather than Konohagakure.

"Ino!"

She knew why Konan was calling out for her, but didn't know whether she should have been scared or happy to turn around. As soon as she turned around, the only thing she saw was a dark shape as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. Breathing in, Ino recognized the scent and smiled in relief, wrapping her own arms around the man infront of her.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too, Itachi."

They released eachother and Ino got a chance to look up at his face for the first time in just under three weeks. She felt tremendously relieved to see that nothing had changed as Itachi bent his head down and kissed her with a smile.

After the short yet happy reunion, Ino looked at Konan to see her in an embrace with a pale redhead.

"Nagato?" Ino questioned, walking towards them.

Nagato turned around and his smile grew when he noticed the blonde, whom he brought into a hug. "Ino!"

After their hug, they began asking one another how they had been during the long time they had not met, while Konan and Itachi greeted eachother.

"As touching as this reunion is, can we go home?"

Ino glanced to the source of the voice to see that Sasori, a short red head had suddenly appeared with three taller men, Tobi, Kakuzu, and Kisame, behind him. Ino and Konan greeted each of them with a hug and the group came together, ignoring Kakuzu's protests and deciding to go out for nice dinner.

The somewhat happy group had almost reached the doors that led them outside when Konan spoke up. "Wait. Where's Deidara and Hidan?"

Ino hadn't realized the lack of the two mentioned Akatsuki members and felt guilty for a moment until Tobi startled her.

"Wahhhhhh!" Tobi began to sob and threw himself onto an alerted Ino. "He was a strict senpai, but a good one... Such a good senpai to Tobi!"

Ino gasped as Konan looked around at the members questioningly. "What? What happened?"

"Deidara-senpai, I'll never forget about-"

"Tobi," Sasori rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic."

"Jeez, Tobi. Don't scare us like that!" Ino claimed while Konan sighed in relief and Tobi scratched the back of his head and apologized. "So where are they?"

"They're stuck in security and won't be released for a few hours." Kisame answered with a well hidden, but still noticeable, smirk.

Konan frowned and crossed her arms on her chest. "What did they do this time?"

Itachi replied impassively, "Deidara was accused of being a terrorist with his bombs."

"Of course." Konan rolled her amber eyes.

"Hidan threatened to kill someone when they didn't let him do his ritual on the plane." Kakuzu stated about his partner.

Konan, again, mercilessly rolled her eyes and started walking again, the rest of the group following behind her.

Ino shook her head in disapproval of the two younger members of the Akatsuki and said, "Boys."

Itachi let out a laugh and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Am I one classified as a boy as well?"

"Nope. You're a man." Ino's arms circled Itachi's waist and she looked up at him. "My man."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head as they walked out into the rain together to join the others.

Ino smiled. Her man was back.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm sorry the last part seemed rushed and lacking detail. I've been staring at it for hours and nothing better seems to be coming into my head. Ah.

I took Tobi's dramatic lines from the actual episode when Deidara was fighting Sasuke and Tobi thought Deidara died. Direct quotes! :)

PS. If you like** the Ame Orphans**, I wrote a FanFic about them, so check it out!

PPS. Just made a **tumblr** specially for Naruto! There are some amazing pictures I found all around the internet there so check it out! (link on my profile)


	12. Birthday Party

**A/N: **OH MY GOODNESS. I AM SO SORRY! I can't believe I haven't updated in over a year... I'm TRULY so sorry! I really really really apologize for the delay. Please forgive me T_T... I had the rest of the chapters all written but for some reason just had no motivation to add more and edit THIS chapter. Again, I'm really sorry.

**Warning: **This is probably the most random chapter in the whole story. Very pointless and definitely unnecessary (probably why I had a hard time writing it...), but still, enjoy!**  
**

* * *

The early May sun was bringing a cheerful amount of light throughout the city of Konoha. It was shining through one particular window of an apartment holding a certain couple that was doing certain naughty things, rather than spending some time outside enjoying the glorious sunshine and warm weather...

Ino moaned as Itachi pushed her back against the kitchen counter. He placed his hands behind her thighs and lifted her up, flopping her down on the counter. With her legs spread open, he could snuggle in between them, his hands now around her waist. Since their height difference was a good six inches, Ino sitting on the high counter top allowed her to be level with Itachi. She wrapped her slender arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"So, what are we doing today?" Ino asked, her eyes closed and hands running through his hair as he kissed down her neck.

"Exactly what we did last night." He answered, now leaving a trail of kisses along her jaw. "And this morning."

Ino smiled as he unzipped her sweater, their faces close together with noses touching and their mouths barely an inch apart. He threw her sweater to the ground and reached for the hem of her tank top to pull it up when his cellphone rang on the dining table.

Though irritated that it ruined the mood, Itachi decided to disregard it and returned to removing Ino's shirt until she spoke up.

"Answer it. Or it will keep ringing."

He walked to the table and grabbed his phone and answered while going back to his previous position.

"Hello?... What is it, Kisame?... I'm with Ino... Yes, you did interrupt something, is it obvious in my tone?"

Ino giggled, receiving a smile from Itachi that was quickly wiped off when he focused his attention back to the phone call.

"What?... Hello Deidara... No, now is not a good time... We're not sure yet... I will ask her... Tobi, I'm going to personally see to your demise if you do not hang up... Goodbye."

He put his phone down on the counter and once again wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's thin waist before kissing her cheek.

"What did they say?" Ino replaced her arms around Itachi's neck and pulled him closer.

"It's Deidara's birthday party tonight."

"Oh, how exciting! I love parties!" Ino removed her arms from encircling his neck and clapped her hands together. "We have to go shopping for a gift!"

"Later. In the meantime..." Itachi finally got to remove Ino's shirt with a smirk and kissed her. "Where were we?"

* * *

"I hope Deidara likes our gift."

"He will." Itachi kissed her cheek, reassuring her. "Don't worry."

They had just arrived at the Akatsuki members' house, ready to celebrate Deidara's birthday. Before Itachi could grab the handle, the door opened to a familiar face.

"Ino!" Konan appeared in the doorway with a smile on her face. "I thought I heard your ever so loud voice."

Ino laughed, pulling her friend into a tight hug, knowing very well she was kidding. Kind of.

"Hello to you, too. Wow, you look great! You're really taking advantage of your clothes before the bump appears, aren't you?"

She checked out her friend who was dressed in a simple, black tube dress with a gray blazer over it, matched with a pair of black pumps. Ino's outfit was very similar; a royal blue dress with thin straps and a white blazer over it, but with a pair of nude pumps.

"You know it. Come in!" Konan stepped to the side to let Ino and Itachi in. "Hey Itachi!"

"Hello, Konan."

"Is that you, Ino?" A voice called out from just around the corner.

"Nagato!" Ino walked over to the pale redhead and greeted him with a hug. "I totally forgot you two live here!"

Konan shut the door and joined them. "I know, it's hard to believe I would actually live with these freaks."

"What the hell is this? A high school fucking reunion?" The young religious Hidan walked towards them and scoffed, then suddenly shot a glare at Konan, finally realizing what she had said. "HEY! Who the fuck are you calling a freak, paper girl?"

"Oh shut up, Hidan." Konan snapped.

Hidan ignored this remark and focused his attention on Ino. "Well, you sure clean up pretty fucking well, blondie. Especially considering our last encounter."

Ino gave him an award-winning smile, trying not to think of the last time she had seen the Akatsuki members. They were at the airport along with Itachi when Ino suddenly made a grand entrance, wearing a regular coat, but with extra small pajamas she had worn when she was a child.

The rest of the group entered the vast living room upon hearing more voices. Ino smiled at the first of the group, a tall blue skinned man heading towards, who welcomed her with an embrace and a whisper in the ear.

"I hear you and Itachi were quite busy this morning, eh?"

The blonde laughed and playfully slapped his arm. "Shut up, Kisame."

"Hi, Ino!" Tobi entered the large living room and started jumping up and down while screaming, "Tobi is so happy to see you again!"

Ino giggled behind her hand before replying along with a hug, "Hi, Tobi!"

"Tobi made balloons! Lots and lots of them."

"Wow, I can't get over what a great place this is!" Ino faced Itachi who was standing next to her. "Why don't we stay here more often?"

"I like yours better, to be honest. More privacy." Itachi whispered in her ear.

Ino laughed and gave her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips before greeting the rest of the group, who were scattered around the living room. She realized one particular person was missing.

"Where's the birthday boy?"

"Right here, yeah." Deidara entered the living room with a wave.

"Happy birthday, Deidara!" Ino threw her arms around him with a big smile"

"Thanks, Ino." Deidara grinned.

"Are you going to open your gifts, senpai?" Tobi asked, bouncing up and down. "Open Tobi's first!"

Kisame grinned, "He can do that later."

"So, what are we doing now?" Ino glanced at her watch. "It's only 10 o'clock."

"We're taking Dei-chan out!" Konan replied with a smile.

Deidara looked up with a suspicious expression. "Where?"

Hidan grinned. "Somewhere we can get you fucking wasted as hell."

* * *

"Ino-CHAN!"

Ino stumbled forward and fell down on her knees when she felt Deidara, clearly drunk off his ass, wrap his arms around her neck and jump onto her back. Thankfully, Itachi was there to take him off of her right away before lifting her off the ground. She was clumsy enough from the alcohol; she didn't need anything else knocking her to the ground.

The Yamanaka heard Itachi ask if she was alright. Ino nodded mindlessly, immune to the pain thanks to her buzz, while looking around at her crazy surroundings.

Hidan and Kakuzu, both shirtless with glitter from an unknown source all over their chests, were making bets on who could take more body shots off two girls. Nagato and Konan were dancing rather crazily, to Ino's surprise, out on the dance floor where Zetsu stood surrounded by a flock of drunk girls. As the white half of him looked very flattered, the black half of him looked completely annoyed. Tobi had passed out very early on after having a few too may shots and had been placed on top of the bar so he wouldn't get trampled over. Sasori, who was taking a break from capturing many drunk shots of the others with his camera, was getting another drink from the bartender. After being tossed to the ground by Itachi, Deidara was slowly crawling across the floor towards Sasori.

Itachi wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and guided her towards the bar, knowing very well she needed some help walking around.

"Come. Let's go sit."

Before he could drag her more than a step, Ino wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck to prevent herself from stumbling even more.

"Thanks for saving me." Ino leaned up and kissed his cheek. "My hero."

His chuckle was cut short as Ino clumsily tilted his face and kissed him on the lips. Soon enough, Ino pushed him to a nearby wall and started kissing him ferociously. He let her push herself up against him, enjoying the feeling of her slender body grinding up against his. Suddenly, Itachi felt fingers reach down to the zipper of his pants.

"Ino." He grabbed a hold of her hand before she could take any more action. "Not here."

Ino formed her peach lips into the perfect pout and looked up at Itachi with wide blue eyes. It didn't go by unnoticed that she was still gently grinding her hips in his. She continued her act and started nibbling on his neck until the Uchiha let out a sigh of defeat. Ino smirked; she knew how to get a guy to surrender to her.

"Fine." He grabbed her hand and led her to what appeared to be a storage closet. After looking around briefly to make sure no one saw them, they quickly snuck in.

A few moments later, Tobi woke up from his spot on the bar, clutching his head that was in massive pain.

"No, the pain is so much for Tobi to handle! And the noise is too loud for Tobi to sleep!"

Tobi walked around, looking for a place for him to get some rest when his eyes lay on a door to a certain closet. He approached the door a lot less merrily than he normally would have done because of the intoxication, clearly unaware of what was going on inside.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you, Tobi." Sasori, who had seen the couple enter the closet, warned Tobi with a passed out Deidara in his arms.

"Huh? Why?"

"Nevermind." Shaking his head, the red head walked away, grumbling about the weight he had to drag along.

"Hmm. Oh well!"

The masked man slowly opened the door, just a crack, and peered inside to see something he had never seen before.

"AHHHHHHH!" Tobi slammed the door shut and ran as far away as he could from the door, his arms flailing around. "No! My eyes! Tobi's eyes!"

* * *

**A/N: **Party with the Akatsuki members...? YES PLEASE!

Once again, I'm so sorry for not updating for the year. I hope you all have been well! There's only 2 chapters left, and I promise they will both be up no later than June!


	13. Meeting the Parents

**A/N: **I'll admit I'm sad because I Don't Need Love is reaching its final lap of the race. I would like to give an early thanks for sticking with me throughout the whole journey! You guys are great.

This is my favourite chapter! I hope you all enjoy it :)

* * *

"Hi mom!"

Ino answered her phone while lying on the couch with her head on Itachi's lap, as the two of them watched some TV.

"I'm great... Mmm hmm?... Yeah..." Ino sat up and looked at Itachi with an apologetic look, which Itachi replied to with a confused expression. "Uh, okay... Are you sure that's a good idea?... Alright... See you at seven!"

"Anything I should worry about?"

"Kind of..."

"What's going on, Ino?"

"Looks like you get to meet my parents. Tonight."

For the first time in the two months they had known each other, Itachi's eyes showed fear.

* * *

"Don't worry, they'll love you!"

After driving out of the city for a good half hour, they finally reached the Yamanaka home in which Ino had grown up in for seventeen years. The car was parked on the street right in front of the house and they were now climbing up the stairs to the front porch. Before Ino could reach the doorbell, Itachi grabbed her hand.

"Both of your parents?"

"Well, my mom will."

"And your father?"

Ino blinked and quickly changed the subject, "Wow, I'm starving. Aren't you?"

"Ino..."

It was too late; she had already rung the doorbell and the door flew open almost immediately.

"Ino!" The woman Itachi could undoubtedly identify as Ino's mother pulled her daughter into a warm hug. She released her, but kept her hands on Ino's shoulders as she examined her daughter. "Goodness, you look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?"

"I'm fine, mom." Ino rolled her eyes but smiled. "Where's daddy?"

"He's at the back, setting up the barbeque." Transferring her gaze to Itachi, Ino's mother beamed, her smile growing. Itachi understood who Ino had gotten her bright smile from. "Now, who do we have here?"

"Uchiha Itachi. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Yamanaka." Itachi introduced himself with a bow.

"Oh, please, dear, just call me Inora. My, what a handsome young man you are. Where did you pick him up, Ino?"

"Mommmm." Ino rolled her large eyes once again and sighed. "You're doing _it _again."

"I'm sorry! Come in, come in." She gestured for them to come into their home.

Ino grabbed Itachi's hand as she followed her mother into the house.

"Honey! Ino and her special guest are here!"

The couple walked through the kitchen where Inora stayed to continue with er cooking, and went out through the back door to the yard, where they found Inoichi setting up the barbecue.

"Daddy!" Ino let go of Itachi's hand and ran over to her father who picked her up and spun her around.

"There's my girl! How's my princess doing?"

"I'm fine, daddy! I want you to meet my boyfriend." She grabbed his elbow and dragged him to the spot Itachi was rooted on, oblivious to the sudden disappearance of her father's smile. "This is Uchiha Itachi. Itachi, this is my daddy, Yamanaka Inoichi."

Seeing him close up, Itachi noted that Inoichi was at least two inches taller than him, and Itachi was not a short fellow.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Inoichi crossed his arms across his chest and stared at this younger man. "I wish I could say the same."

"Daddy!" Ino frowned. "You promised you would be nice."

"When did I ever say that?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Come on, Itachi. Let's go help my mom."

"Actually, I was hoping to have a chat with Itachi." Inoichi stated, not breaking his eye contact with Itachi. "Alone."

Ino glanced at her father, suspicion radiating out of her. "Why?"

"Relax, princess. I'm not going to barbeque him."

"Okay then..."

She left the men and went back inside where her mother was preparing a salad. Ino grabbed a handful of various cutlery, placemats, glasses, and napkins, all on one large tray and went to set the dining table.

"Where's Itachi, honey?"

"Outside. With daddy."

Inora looked up from a large bowl of vegetables, her eyebrows crinkled. "Really, now? But it's only his first time coming here."

"I know." She sighed.

Ino's mother looked out one of the many kitchen windows to spy on her husband and her daughter's boyfriend.

"Honey, come here for a second." Eyes never leaving the target, Inora waved for Ino to come to her and join in her childish behaviour.

"What is it?" Upon the arrival of Ino, her mother put an arm around her shoulders as they both started to giggle at the questioning they had heard a number of times already.

"What do you want with my princess."

"It is her that I want, sir."

"Why? Because she's beautiful? Funny? Smart? Talented?"

"Actually, it's because-"

"Or are you taking advantage that she can, in fact, be vulnerable and sensitive, at times?"

"Of course not. I would never-"

"You are aware that I am a high-rank interrogator in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force?"

Itachi forced himself to not look away from Inoichi's burning glare. He noticed that while Ino had her mother's smile, she had her father's eyes, and just like Ino's eyes when angered, Inoichi's eyes gave the feeling that they could penetrate deep into people's minds.

"I was not aware."

"Well now you do. Keep that in mind"

With that, Inoichi went back to setting up the barbecue for their dinner, and the Yamanaka females retreated from their spying positions by the window.

Ino let out a sigh in relief. "Well, that wasn't too bad."

"Definitely a lot better than some others have dealt with. Why don't you go and bring Itachi inside before we end up jinxing it."

* * *

"Thank you, Inora. Dinner was delightful."

"My pleasure, Itachi." Inora smiled and got up to clear away the dishes, but Itachi was quicker.

"Let me get those for you."

He got all the dishes and carried them gracefully to the sink in the kitchen as Ino's mother followed, her smile growing.

Ino took this opportunity to chat alone with her father. She slid over to the seat next to his, where her mother was sitting.

"So? What do you think?"

"He definitely isn't good enough." He could tell he was about to be interrupted by the daughter he knew very well, and quickly added. "But let's be honest. No one will ever be good enough for my princess. And as much as I hate to admit it, that boy is the closest anyone will ever get."

"Really?"

He looked at her somewhat sadly. "Really."

"Daddy, there's no reason to look so sad!" She reached out and hugged her father. "It's not like I'm leaving! And if I ever did, that wouldn't stop me from being your girl."

Inoichi smiled and kissed the top of Ino's head.

"I know that, princess. But if you want your boyfriend to live till tomorrow you better get him away from my position as dish dryer."

Ino laughed and they both walked over to where her mother and Itachi were.

"Son, if you don't want to die tragically in the hands of a member of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, I suggest you step away from my spot."

Itachi glanced at Ino to see whether her father was serious or not and saw she was smiling. "Whatever you say, sir."

"Ino, why don't you show Itachi around the house? I'll call when dessert is ready."

"Okay."

Ino took Itachi's hand and led him towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. She led him into a room which, of course, was her old bedroom.

Itachi looked around the room briefly before giving his verdict. "It's nice."

Before he could add any more comments, Ino closed the door halfway and dragged him to the wall that was hidden from the hallway due to the door.

"Ino. What are y-"

She pushed him against the wall and started kissing him. Ino pulled out his dress shirt that was tucked in his pants neatly, and started to unbutton it. Pulling apart from the long kiss, she began licking the spot right behind his ear.

He groaned and made an attempt to ask again, "What are you doing?"

Ino grinned. "Just having some fun."

_"You are aware that I am a high-rank interrogator in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force?"_

Itachi froze as he heard a certain man's rather intimidating voice in his head. He grabbed Ino's hands and pushed her back slightly.

"What's wrong?" Ino gazed up at his face with a frown before reading his face. "Are you thinking about what daddy said to you?"

Without a reply, Itachi began walk around her room to analyze the scenery in more dept.

"Seriously?" Ino crossed her arms. "I can't believe you're actually scared of him!"

"The Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force is nothing to take lightly."

Ino sighed and belly flopped onto her bed. She played with a stuffed pig while Itachi continued to examine her bedroom.

"Dessert is ready!" Ino's mother stuck her head into the room. She noticed Itachi looking intently at the photo album of an adolescent Ino. "Oh dear, you don't want to be looking at those photo albums. I'll show you the real treasure albums, the ones of Ino as a baby and such."

"Mom!" Ino sat up in protest.

"Sounds fun." Itachi smirked at Ino as he joined her mother, leaving Ino to be alone in her room.

She stayed on her bed for a while, looking around the familiar room. It was filled with pictures from her adolescent years. The majority consisted of the famous Ino-Shika-Cho. There were some with Sakura, more being from the childhood ages rather than the preteen ages. The rest were of classmates and a few seniors she had grown up with, from kindergarten all the way to high school.

By the time she lifted herself off the bed and climbed downstairs to the living room, Inora already had Itachi engrossed in pictures of Ino in who-knows-what states, both of them ignoring their dessert. Her father was sitting on the couch, eating custard pudding, a shared favourite between the father and daughter. Ino jumped onto the space next to him and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Here's a great one."

Ino watched her mother pass a photograph to Itachi that made him laugh, just with one glance.

"Mom! What in the Hokage's great name are you showing him?" Ino got up from the couch and snatched the photo from Itachi's hands, wanting to see the picture herself.

"Honey, I'm sure Itachi thinks you look very-"

"MOM!"

"Now, Ino, some kids around that age are still a little chubby from their baby fa-"

"I was not chubby! I was just a bit round!" Ino gave the photo back and grabbed a bowl of pudding before throwing herself back onto the couch. "Hmph!"

Almost an hour flew by like that. Inora sharing an uncountable number of photos to Itachi, and Inoichi watching TV with Ino as they ate many bowls of pudding together. As it was now past ten o'clock, the couple decided it was time to leave. They said goodbye with some hugs (and one solemn handshake), along with a promise that they would visit again soon.

They were walking down the front path towards the car silently, until a thought occurred to Ino.

"I just realized," Ino turned around and leaned back against the car. "You haven't paid me for the first two nights yet!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Ino nodded with a sly smile on her face.

"Then let me pay you back," Itachi slid his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. "Like this."

Itachi opened the door to the backseats and Ino quickly climbed in, joined by Itachi right after. He kissed Ino hungrily as she started unbuttoning his shirt when something broke one of the car windows. Glass shattered and flew everywhere, causing Ino to scream in fright. Itachi turned his head and saw a very tall figure standing on the sidewalk.

"Get your ass out here, Uchiha."

* * *

**A/N: **Uh oh! Never touch a girl unless you are at least a mile away from her father's view... **  
**

Next chapter is the final chapter: **the epilogue!**


	14. Epilogue

**A/N: **It's hard to believe that my friend and I came up with the first chapter as a roleplay idea and I turned it into a real FanFic! Never thought it would turn out this way. I'm glad it did, though!

This final chapter is dedicated to everyone who gave their time to read this story and submit reviews! You guys all rock, and I thank you!

Please enjoy this final chapter :)

* * *

**10 Years Later  
**

* * *

Yamanaka Ino thought of the past ten years that had passed. So much had happened that it felt like it was taken right out of a daytime drama. It seemed suitable though, since she did think of herself as a drama queen.

In a good way.

**-:-:-**

After a solid year of being committed to eachother, Ino and Itachi broke up for a few months. Ino had made it clear that, to her, being in a relationship meant actually being together almost all the time. Itachi had spent almost two months away from Konoha and Ino due to his duties as a member of the Akatsuki. That was the last straw for Ino, and led to their break up. However, she realized that they needed eachother, no matter what they were going through and no matter where they were. Itachi was never gone for more than a week per month since they reunited as a couple.

Less than a year later, right after Ino turned twenty-two, Itachi proposed. His bouquet of flowers in his hand while down on one knee, in the special spot of the park they first met at, had made her laugh for a few moments before she threw her arms around him, screaming the word yes.

**-:-:-**

Another year later, Inoichi was seen with tears in his eyes as he walked down the aisle with his one and only beautifully grown daughter holding onto his arm. He kissed her on the cheek before giving her away to the groom.

After the heartfelt yet brief ceremony, everybody left for the reception centre as Inoichi sat alone in his seat, face in his hands. He was sobbing with no embarrassment, claiming he did not want to lose his princess. Itachi stood off to the side and rocked back and forth on his heels awkwardly as his bride comforted her father until he was calm enough to head for the reception, which took no less than forty-five minutes.

All of Ino's friends she had known since she was just a child was there too. It was very nice to see her best friends, Shikamaru and Chouji, suited up for once. After sharing her first dance as a married couple with Itachi, Ino danced with her father, who dashed away halfway through the song due to the waterworks starting up again, and then she danced with both Shikamaru and Chouji. When she reunited with Itachi on the dance floor, she noticed all her friends and teachers she had been close with in high school. Sakura was dancing with Naruto, next to Hinata, who was dancing, and not to mention blushing indescribably, with Shino. Kiba and Akamaru were causing a circus with Lee and Gai-sensei. Kurenai-sensei was dancing with her and Asuma-sensei's son. Tenten was dancing with Neji, and Kakashi-sensei seemed to be dancing by himself while reading a book, blushing and giggling like a little girl once in a while. Everyone else was scattered around either dancing in groups, getting something to eat, or taking advantage of the open bar.

Every member of the Akatsuki was there as well. They had their own table, which was avoided by most of the guests, mostly all the adults, who were not too comfortable and very surprised with such a criminal group being near them. The young female guests of the wedding, oblivious to the reputation of the group, were whispering to each other behind their hands, trying to figure out who was the best looking member in their crisp suits. Deidara and Sasori, were dancing with huge grins, completely oblivious to quite a number of girls taking pictures of them with their cellphones. Kisame and Hidan were flirting with a large number of guests, and Kisame seemed to be winning in popularity, resulting in Hidan swearing so much that a random child threw cake at his face, which only brought up more swearing. Kakuzu was estimating the total cost of the wedding, knowing Ino and Itachi had a budget, but even so the wedding had turned out so magnificently beautiful it was hard to believe they had a budget for cost. Zetsu spent about thirty minutes trying to decide on whether to have the slice of cake with chocolate icing or vanilla icing, since his two halves couldn't agree on one. Tobi was running around throwing flower petals everywhere, overjoyed by the atmosphere he was a part of at the moment. Konan was holding her two year old son, Yahiko, and sitting next to Nagato, smiles on their faces for many reasons.

The most surprising event that had occurred during the wedding was the dramatically and very fashionably late entrance of Uchiha Sasuke. The party basically stopped as everyone noticed him, including the groom and the bride. The whole area went numbly quiet as Itachi let go of Ino's hand and took several steps towards Sasuke, who did the same, and eventually the two met in the middle. After a few awkward moments of the two Uchihas standing there, Sasuke reached out a hand towards his older brother. When Itachi didn't give him his hand, Sasuke gave up and his hand dropped back down to his side. Right then, Itachi leaned forward and embraced his younger brother, no words necessary. Ino smiled, which turned into giggles, and the party was up and running again. She joined her husband and her brother-in-law, who apologized for missing the ceremony but assured her that he wouldn't miss anything else.

**-:-:-**

One morning, a couple months after their one year wedding anniversary, Ino and Itachi awoke in eachother's arms. They shared a kiss and smiled at eachother, savouring the moment before they had to get out of the warm bed and make breakfast. The moment was soon over as Ino jumped out of her husbands arms and darted for the washroom, her hand covering her mouth. Itachi followed her into the bathroom to find Ino down on her knees, kneeling over the toilet. After releasing all evidence of her sickness, Ino looked up to find her so-called-husband laughing at her.

"What the hell is funny about me throwing up? Does it amuse you that I could be dying?"

"Ino. We both know you are definitely not dying."

**-:-:-**

At twenty-five, Ino gave birth to her first child, a baby girl. They gave her the name Harumi, meaning "spring beauty". Her hair was the mixture of both her parents' hair; a nice chestnut colour. Her eyes were coloured in a very light shade of purple, which Ino adored and envied greatly. If a stranger had come across Harumi, they would not be able to name who her parents were. However, those who knew who her parents were could say that she was a beautiful child who was an even mix of her father and her mother.

At the age of three, Harumi was graced with a younger brother. Unlike his older sister and much like his mother, Tomoko, which means "child of wisdom", had golden hair. His eyes however were from his father, red with black designs. He, like his sister, was born as a mix of his parents, just in a different way.

Right before their first child was born, Ino and Itachi had moved out of Ino's modern apartment to a modest house in a more suburban area. It was right outside the city, so it was a closer distance to Ino's parents and they could also visit the city often, which was important because Ino could not bear to live without visiting her favourite park at least three times a week. They still kept the apartment, as it held too many memories of the beginning of their relationship. Sometimes, when the kids were off playing around at their grandparents' house, Ino and Itachi went back to the apartment for some alone time.

They still had their fun.

* * *

It was a beautiful, hot day in the middle of July.

Ino and Konan were sitting on a blanket under a large tree in the park with their kids. Tomoko was playing with a toy while sitting on Konan's lap and Yahiko was lying on his stomach playing on his Nintendo DS. Harumi was poking Yahiko, trying to divert his attention from his game to her.

"Looks like someone has a crush on Yahiko." Konan smiled at Ino.

"Mommy?" Harumi stopped poking Yahiko and glanced at her mother. "What's a crush?"

"It's nothing, sweetie." Ino reached over and gently brushed Harumi's hair with her fingers and turned back to Konan. "Developing a crush on a guy almost double her age at just five years old. She really is my daughter, isn't she?"

Konan laughed, just as Nagato and Itachi returned from their trip to a nearby ice cream cart.

After snacking on the delicious ice cream, and a shy kiss on Yahiko's cheek by Harumi, the two families said goodbye for the day and parted ways. Ino and Itachi decided to walk through the park before heading back home. Itachi was pushing the stroller carrying a sleeping Tomoko as Harumi ran around the grass, picking up flowers along the way. She handed her small bunch of flowers to her mother and Itachi lifted her up, carrying her on his shoulders as Ino took over the stroller. Harumi began talking non-stop about how she was planning to marry Yahiko the next time they saw each other, causing her parents to look at each other with grins on their faces.

Not wanting her daughter to think he was ignoring her by talking, Itachi mouthed, "I love you." to Ino, and she did the same back.

They started their way home as Harumi continued rambling on about her wedding with her future husband.

"There has to be lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of pretty flowers everywhere!"

* * *

It had been ten years since Yamanaka Ino opened herself up to love. She still had her whole life ahead of her. Everything was so unpredictable, just like the events that occurred after meeting a certain red-eyed Akatsuki member in the park one day. She wasn't afraid of what the future held. She knew everything would be great. She knew everything that came across her would be full of love. Nothing but love.

And lots of it.

* * *

**- END -**

* * *

**A/N:** Ah, it's over now! T_T

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who supported me throughout the whole story!

I hope I Don't Need Love has provided you with entertainment, full of humour, drama, and of course, love. :)

**LOVE LOVE LOVE for all of you! :D**

**See you later!**

**-.-honeydew7-.-**


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